An Oasis During Milan Design Week, Courtesy of Rick Tegelaar

Rick Tegelaar in the process of creating "OASIS" for Milan Design Week. Photo by Amber Zeekaf

With an event happening on almost every city block during Milan Design Week, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, so visitors are always eager for a moment to catch their breath. Dutch designer and maker Rick Tegelaar offers that respite with "OASIS," his first solo show in Milan.

Described as “part studio, part landscape, part sensory reset,” "OASIS" invites visitors to step out of the frenetic pace of Milan Design Week and into a 270-square-meter immersive exhibition. The heart of the show features a curated selection of works spanning Rick’s career, including the energy-innovative Ceiling Cam Fam and the Tabby lighting structure made of birch strips and brass wires woven into a tight modular grid.

These pieces will be shown alongside new pieces created specifically for Milan, including the Traces lighting collection, developed exclusively for the exhibition, which explores the designer’s desire to make printed circuit boards by hand, using copper tape and custom LED units.

The process of creating "OASIS"

“I’m interested in the point where electronics meet the human hand, where something usually associated with precision and engineering becomes more direct, tactile, and expressive,” Rick says. “Most electronic elements are designed to disappear. Here, I wanted to bring them to the foreground.”

An extension of his Meshmatics Chandelier (adopted by Moooi), which transforms industrial chicken wire into a refined lighting structure, will also be presented this year. “Milan Design Week felt like the right moment to introduce these additions, in a setting where both experimentation and continuity can be appreciated,” he says.

Adding to the atmosphere of the exhibition are a living plant installation by Pim Schrier of Plants in Paradise and a bespoke scent created by SOM Tales of Perfume, as using signature scents continues to be a trend in spaces looking to create a complete sensory experience. Visitors are encouraged to wander freely through the space, discovering mechanical and moving elements and observing how Rick builds, experiments, and tinkers using his self-made machines and tools.

Tabby lighting structure in "OASIS"

"OASIS" marks a significant moment in Rick’s career, defined by material experimentation, self-built machinery, and large-scale international commissions. In addition to playing around with printed circuit boards, thin aircraft plywood, and glassmaking, he and his studio team have also been experimenting with ceramics. He notes, “At the moment, we are developing several materials and techniques in the studio, trying to push them further and make them part of our own language.”

"OASIS" at Spazio Adatto, Viale Abruzzi 13, is open to the public from April 21-25 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and April 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

– Rita Catinella Orrell