Openhouse magazine, ISSUE 21Inma BuendiaEnglish

The Live Editorial of Charlotte Taylor at Side Gallery

Openhouse magazine, ISSUE 21Inma BuendiaEnglish
The Live Editorial of Charlotte Taylor at Side Gallery

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A huge space with barely any walls, surrounded by windows, with floors and ceilings all in one colour, comes into view. It's difficult to guess its purpose: is it a home, an office, a gallery, or all of the above at once? As the gaze gradually distinguishes the details, there's a table set, perhaps for guests, and an unmade bed with a laptop on it. Hobbies lie on a desk, a small table holds a chess set, and various utilitarian objects like chairs, ashtrays and wine glasses, with great sculptural appeal, could well be exhibited in a museum.

This is the first 'live editorial' by Openhouse. An installation by Charlotte Taylor that reinterprets what we call home in an imposing setting: Side Gallery, a contemporary artefact in its forms but classic in its purpose, to preserve and arrange historical records related to Latin American design of the past century. The majestic work carried out by Guillermo Santomá in the 700 square metres of this gallery in Barcelona is clad in nothing but concrete. This material serves to unify such a vast space into a single formal and functional piece. A body of work in which Luis Sendino, curator and founder of the Side Gallery, alternates tradition and avant-garde in a melancholic approach to the past that invites dreaming of possible futures.

In that sort of temporal parenthesis seems to lie Charlotte Taylor's creative proposal. Unaffected by the aesthetic noise around, her workspace is the inexhaustible archive of images that this artist and designer catalogues in her mind, creating synergies between art and everyday life, between play and chaos. To orbit in the same place as Charlotte is to be imbued by the calm - not docile - character she conveys with each step. A disposition from which sophisticated, lively spaces with a great sense of humour are born. Charlotte is the first guest to develop, alongside talented creators from all over the world, the live editorial that inaugurates OpenArchive, the life we share. 

How did you incorporate the personal tastes and preferences of Openhouse and Side Gallery into your design?

There was already a synergy between Openhouse, Side Gallery and personal style so the result was more a collage of overlaying some of my more specific tastes into a palette that feels familiar. The sudoku unmade beds and striped shirts are definitely a signature of mine that brings a bit of disarray.

What part of the project did you enjoy the most?

Watching people interact with the space and pieces. There were a group of children who started playing chess which was my favourite moment I caught a glimpse of.

How does the curation of art in a house-gallery differ from traditional gallery spaces, and how does the design facilitate this distinction?

The domestic side to the space brings that very personal element to the gallery and is an invitation to react with the space and pieces in a more casual and explorative way. Movement and people’s journey throughout the space is a very different consideration, to have people lean and lounge on the pieces and become of the show as opposed to purely a visitor to the show. Taking the gallery experience beyond the visual perspective and engaging the other senses.

How do you create cohesive environments that look both elegant and effortlessly vigorous?

Maintaining an element of play and chaos and allowing things to have a sense of movement and openness, away from a highly considered yet static space. 

Are there specific design objects or materials that you find particularly effective in achieving this balance?

Objects go a long way in offsetting a space and bringing a notion of personality and breaking a rigid arrangement.

How do cultural and historical elements inspire your design work?

I am always drawing inspiration from different historical/cultural eras and movements of design. Drawing on the similarities and contrasts, amalgamating references into something new yet very rooted in the past.

How do you see the relationship between design and other art disciplines in your work?

It’s very fluid. My process is very much bouncing between art and design practices. It’s inseparable for me as everything feeds into one another and design as a means itself can’t be isolated from the wider creative world. 

What would you say is the main challenge you face as a designer and how do you overcome it?

Actualising ideas. There’s always 100+ ideas that I can get really excited by and passionate about but it's impossible to be able to develop and keep up with the speed of your imagination. It’s frustrating to see so many ideas dissolve and never take shape. Prioritising the projects and concepts that I’m most driven by and trying to allocate a dedicated time and schedule rather than starting multiple things at once is helping to keep the momentum but not dilute the designs.

What has your design journey and the influences that have shaped your aesthetic?

My personal design journey has been a bit of a winding and unconventional one to reach architecture. Passing through a range of mediums and disciplines within design has shaped my interdisciplinary approach and aesthetic. Having a Fine Art education has also been very defining in my journey, allowing a very playful and unconstrained perspective to the design processes and protocols.

How do you envision the future of design, and what role do you hope to play in shaping it?

I see it becoming more and more collaborative, not just within traditionally deemed creative fields but inclusive of all fields and sectors. Honouring the creativity of scientists, mathematicians, ecologists and design becoming the product of many, not a single designer/architect/artist. I would love to work with and learn from fields I am not familiar with and start conversations around creative ways of working together.