A Connoisseur of Colour.

London-based Bethan Laura Wood’s response to her Mecca Women in Design* commission was to create a Regency inspired bookcase dressed in custom ALPI timber veneer. Driven by her passion for colour, material investigation and artisan collaboration, her Kaleidoscope-o-rama installation serves as a platform for commentary in response to pieces from the NGV’s Regency collection.

Central to the exhibit, the 360-degree tiered timber bookcase references the form of a kaleidoscope, the structure serving as a symbol for the ever-changing viewpoint, the books informed by her interest in Regency period female authors and the dissemination of knowledge.

Statically the piece resembles an evocative contemporary piece of joinery but touch the shelves and a magical transformation happens. 

Watch Bethan Laura Wood give a demonstration here.

Elton Group met with Bethan on her recent visit to Melbourne and spoke with her about her unique experience collaborating with ALPI (represented in Australia by Elton Group). 

Bethan worked closely with ALPI technicians to develop colourful woodblocks referencing dyed veneers from ALPI's archival collection and inspired by colour combinations from her research.

The blocks, when sliced into veneer sheets, produce multicoloured bold patterns, an imitation of fancy period woods, which are then book-matched to create kaleidoscopic effects.

Elton Group shared the stories behind the development of Kaleidoscope-o-rama and the unique veneers with Melbourne’s A&D community over a series of small tours coinciding with International Women’s Day 2024.

Included in the experience were a demonstration of the process of the making of ALPI veneers, and the opportunity to discuss the full meaning of the bookcase and the veneer in situ, followed by a Q&A session in Tadao Ando’s MPavilion. 

Click here for more information on Kaleidoscope-o-rama

The NGV Triennial runs until April 14, 2024. Don’t miss your chance to see Kaleidoscope-o-rama (and Bethan Laura Wood's prototypes and sketches) in the Regency Room Level 2, NGV International.

More details here

Are you travelling to Milan this year? ALPI will be launching new collections from Piero Lissoni, GamFratesi and Konstantin Grcic at the Salone del Mobile in Rho, Hall 24, Booth 6 and at their centrally located showroom 7 Via Solferino, Milan.

Let us know you are going. 
Email: enquire@eltongroup.com

*The Mecca Women In Design champions creative women changing the design world through the Women in Design Commission—a major ongoing series that invites internationally renowned female designers and architects to create new and important work for the NGV Collection. Read more here.

Photo Credits (Top to Bottom)—1. Bethan Laura Wood with scale model of the MECCA x NGV: Women in Design Commission. Photo: Mark Cocksedge 2. Close up of commission (Uncredited) 3. Tour at NGV. (Uncredited) 4. Bethan Laura Wood’s custom wood veneers samples at ALPI, designed for the MECCA x NGV: Women in Design Commission. Photo: Stefan Giftthaler 

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