Stone Age Folk
From Hungarian myths to African tribal influences, a fantasy world inspired by the natural environment - Fauna, flora and the folklore of different cultures was transformed from what commonly used for countertops in kitchens or bathrooms, into a series of frames featuring abstract depictions of faces. Spanish Designer Jaime Hayon collaborated with leading quartz manufacturer Caesarstone exploring different techniques and combining 48 variations of Caesarstone’s quartz material that brought that fantasy world to life.
Unveiled last April 2017 in Milan Italy With the breathtaking historical backdrop of the Palazzo’s Ballroom the installation “Stone Age Folk” consisting of Caesarstone colours with metal and stained glass celebrated 30 years of commitment to luxurious high quality surfaces and design innovation.
Photo credit Liah
Each Year since 2013, Caesarstone collaborates with a different designer. In 2017 they decided to collaborate with spanish designer and artist Jaime Hayon. Starting with the mask "Face Mirror" uniting designs from the supernatural collection and the concerto which is an elaborate design of Caesarstone. Hayon was very fascinated with the ancient civilisation, and the core concept behind a "mask" - the object of which you usually hide yourself behind, becomes a place where it is an object which you reflects yourself in the installation "Face Mirror".
"People tend to see Caesarstone as a material that is only used in kitchens, but I looked at it from the viewpoint of an artist and designer. With this in mind, I wanted to create my own imaginative cosmos, using the brand's quartz material alongside other noble materials like glass and metal." Jaime Hayon, Designer.
“What I did, is like I focused much more on the ability of the material” By combining the material with it’s different contrast of colours and different textures and reflections, Hayon was able to Achieve his vision of how versatile the material is.
Hayon took the opportunity to create a strong element of surprise with the installation. With the use of his signature clown faces being featured on large scale wall panels, carousels made of Caesarstone's quartz and glass, furniture pieces that took the forms of animated faces and bird like characters and kaleidoscope feel of different coloured glasses that reflected it’s whimsical colours within the space contrasting to the beautiful palazzo Serbelloni ballroom.
Photo credit Tom Mannion
“ For me it was this idea of creating something that’s more spectacular, bringing up a theatrical scene to it” - Jaime Hayon
About the Designer
Jaime Hayon
Spanish artist-designer Jaime Hayon was born in Madrid in 1974. His artistic vision was first fully exposed in the ‘Mediterranean Digital Baroque’ and ‘Mon Cirque’ installations. These collections put Jaime at the forefront a new wave that blurred the lines between art, decoration and design and a renaissance in finely-crafted, intricate objects within the context of contemporary design culture.
About Caesarstone
Caesarstone manufactures high quality engineered quartz surfaces, which are used in both residential and commercial buildings as countertops, vanities, wall cladding, floors and other interior surfaces. The wide variety of colors, styles, designs and textures of Caesarstone® products, along with Caesarstone's inherent characteristics such as hardness, non-porous, scratch and stain resistance and durability, provide consumers with excellent surfaces for their internal spaces which are highly competitive to granite, manufactured solid surfaces and laminate, as well as to other engineered quartz surfaces. Caesarstone's four collections of products — Classico, Motivo, Concetto and Supernatural — are available in over 50 countries around the world.
