Welcome to the Guest Collection
Can an artwork in porcelain have many faces, come from different countries and express itself in varied iconographic languages? Can it be the work of a single artist and at the same time the sum of many? The answer is yes, and it is known as The Guest.
KZENG
JIANG
Past, Present and Future
The Guest by Kzeng seeks to render his cultural roots through symbols of traditions like Chinese facial painting or flower painting from the Song dynasty, reinterpreting these elements in his own personal style. In the case of the large The Guest, for instance, he is portrayed with three big eyes on his face which, according to Kzeng, “allow him to see the past, present and future as if he were a messenger travelling through time.” As regards color, Kzeng chose blue tones on the white porcelain to ensure a sense of visual harmony and balance.
He then combines these colors with touches of golden luster in order to convey the prestige associated so closely with ancient Chinese porcelain. The end results are two striking yet serene creations.
Kzeng Jiang is the first Chinese artist to join the creative universe of The Guest. Based in Shanghai, his work captures the contemporary culture of the East and big brands transformed into cult iconography through vibrant, radical illustrations.
Supakitch
WATER AND SUN
Guillaume Grando, aka Supakitch, is the creator behind two The Guests that seem to be rising from the water. And this is precisely the effect the artist was after, to capture the wealth of the plays of color of sunlight on the surface of water. A goal clearly achieved in these pieces, the first in the collection to have volume, that seem to rock us to the hypnotic rhythm of the waves.
Supakitch started off as a graffiti artist in the early-nineties and, since then, the fluidity called for by graffiti has been instrumental in shaping the sinuous brushstroke of his work. His creative projects focus on gesture, movement, liquid material, color and reflections of light.
Henn
Kim
VISUAL POETRY
The Guests by Henn Kim, a rising star of contemporary illustration, speak to us of the world in which we live and our role in it. In the large The Guest, galaxies and stars symbolize the vastness of our always captivating planet. In the small The Guest, with a sticking plaster over a heart and flowers, she conveys the sensation that, although there is often suffering, life always flourishes.
The South Korean illustrator Henn Kim looks on creativity as a form of emotional freedom. Based on poetic minimalism in black and white, her works are able to capture complex feelings with just a few brushstrokes, and make us think. The originality of her creations, popularized thanks to the expansive power of social media, has made her one of the most outstanding voices in today’s creative universe.
Ricardo
Cavolo
LEGENDS AND FANTASY
“When I received the invitation to create two pieces for The Guest collection I knew that I would have to give the best of myself in order to be up to the challenge”. And he gave it his best. For these pieces the internationally renowned Spanish illustrator Ricardo Cavolo envisaged breath-taking imagery based on legends, fantasy nature and tattooed beings. And Lladró artists masterfully rendered his unique powerful iconography.
Interestingly, here he depicts his own son and wife. His wife as a beautiful Armenian queen conveying strength, light and energy. And he places his son in a fantasy world of mountains, flowers, volcanoes and stars.
Ricardo Cavolo, after graduating in Fine Art and teaching drawing, entered the art world thanks to the passion transmitted by his father for handcrafted processes. His work is characterized by a faux naïf style applied using traditional techniques like colored pencils, watercolors or liquid inks. His illustrations speak of a powerful imagination, full of color and messages, and have won him a growing reputation among young audiences.
Paul
Smith
A CAT AND DOG PARTY
"These are pieces that I would like to have at The Guest. Optimistic, fun, happy, full of color and sense of humor, that’s what makes them Smithy.” This is what Britain’s foremost designer had to say about The Guest sculptures he customized for this collection and its eccentric creative universe. A cat and a dog, Lladró and Paul Smith, strewn with confetti and covered with masks, these pieces bring together two seemingly opposite poles.
“Each one is created and painted by hand in the Lladró workshops in Valencia, something which is increasingly more unusual in our computerized and mechanized world" Sir Paul concluded.
Paul Smith is one of Great Britain’s foremost designers. Known for a creative aesthetic that combines tradition and modernity, he claims that "you can find inspiration in everything", and that his references are eclectic, coming from high art and everyday life. Each Paul Smith design is underpinned by a dry British sense of humor: quirky but not frivolous, eccentric but not silly.
Gary
Baseman
LOVABLY BITTERSWEET
“The beauty of the bittersweetness of life” is how the US designer Gary Baseman describes the artistic realm he explores in his works. This mission, reflected in painting, fashion and toy design, is now taken to porcelain, as if it were yet another canvas. Bold forms are drawn in soft pink and violet, in categorical black and brown, in pieces with an otherworldly touch that ooze pure magnetism.
Gary Baseman is a multifaceted artist: painter, illustrator, video and performance artist, animator, film and television producer, toy designer and exhibition curator. He is the designer of the bestselling board game Cranium, and the animation series “Teacher’s Pet”, for which he won three Emmy and BAFTA awards, and earned him a place on Entertainment Weekly’s list of “Most Creative People”. According to The Los Angeles Time, his art is “adorably perverse”.
Devil
Robots
PURE TOY AESTHETICS
Perfectly combined polka dots and stripes, cheerful colors and the sobriety of black, the pure Japanese toy aesthetic of Devilrobots is now transferred to Lladró porcelain. The artistic team who helped define the era of designer toys with their character To-Fu Oyako is behind this pair of The Guest. Bold, fun and extravagant, according to their creators, they express “a desire to speak about new paths and journeys.”
Devilrobots is a Japanese design team specialized in character designs, illustrations, motion graphics and web art. As the creators of the recognizable To-Fu Oyako, one of Japan's most popular contributions to the toy world, they have demonstrated how a simple character can be turned into a useful and emotive medium.
Tim
Biskup
HIDDEN MESSAGES
For the US artist Tim Biskup, The Guest project is “an elegant way of fusing fragmented geometric forms with the unquestionable artistic quality of Lladró’s work.” His ground-breaking theories in color and design, based on what he calls a ‘populist esthetic’, take on unusual relevance in the hands of Lladró artisans, who have brought to life pieces with skulls included. And a secret: the drop on the small Guest is not a teardrop, but a symbol of connection with nature.
Tim Biskup is a multidisciplinary artist long recognized for his complex color and design theories and decidedly populist aesthetic. Over recent decades, his exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the world have won him a legion of fans and collectors, propelled further by his steady output of limited edition prints, vinyl figures, books, records and other objects.
Rolito
LIGHTING UP DREAMS
Imagine a superhero of the night who, together with his partner, protects sleepers and wards off nightmares. This is The Guest by Rolito, the celebrated French designer and illustrator, who borrowed inspiration from his own son to personalize this couple of sculptures.
“Working with Lladró was wonderful. They gave me the freedom to create with the fantastic organic material of porcelain. I concentrated on the textures because everything is painted by hand.” With his magic pajamas and shiny feet, “he is a character who manages to make you feel safe and protected”, he added.
Rolito is a character designer, illustrator and art director based in Europe. After completing multidisciplinary Beaux Arts studies in France, Rolito joined an innovative multimedia studio at the forefront of web content development. The first version of his personal website, Rolitoland, was a flash-animated microcosm that showcased his unique imagination, winning him many awards and accolades in festivals worldwide. This led him to collaborate with Sony Japan in the world of video games and ever since this artist has never stopped growing.
Jaime
Hayon
THE BIRTH OF AN ICON
This couple of Guests kickstarted the collection with designs by its creator, Jaime Hayon. The artistic universe of this Madrid-born artist, with a focus on craft and cutting-edge applied to design, is reflected in pieces full of knowing nods to key themes in the brand’s history, such as love and childhood. With a subtle sense of humor, from a “boundary pusher” who believes that Lladró’s savoir faire is totally unique.
As he himself says, “I wanted to be part of the company’s evolution, my intention was never a revolution. For several generations, its artisans have accrued control over an art form and techniques. My task was to add that extra contemporary touch”.
Jaime Hayon speaks a unique yet internationally recognizable creative language. His style, which blurs the lines between art, decoration and design, impregnates everything he creates, whether it be furniture, products, interiors or art installations. The materials he chooses are always noble and with a history attached, because he knows that it gives his playful tone elegance and body. His successful trajectory led him to be included in the Times magazine list of the hundred most significant creators of our time while Wallpaper named him as one of the most influential artists of recent decades.
Jaime
Hayon
One thing that you can claim without a shadow of a doubt is that The Guest is an icon of Lladró’s New Concept category. Its designer, Jaime Hayon, talks to us about the beginnings of this transcendental project, his vision, the initial steps, the challenges … An interview addressing the ambition and creative possibilities of porcelain in The Guest, an always unique and contemporary character.
How did The Guest come about?
I recall it as a time of frenetic activity but above all I remember exactly what I wanted to do. I had been working for several years in Hong Kong on the design of toys in vinyl and I was intrigued by the idea of customization and collecting. That’s why, from the first day I started to work with Lladró, I wanted to transfer that idea from vinyl to porcelain; to take the iconographic part of urban collectible toys to more traditional porcelain. I was really attracted to the idea, because it was a kind of experiment in mixing two different worlds, of seeing what would happen, what the result would be.
And the truth is that we were very happy right from the very first tests. There was something in the sculpture, an energy, that caused a great impression, and I believe that’s why it got off to such a fantastic start and has continued being such a great success.
How did you arrive at this character?
I wanted it to reflect my world and so I gave it some of my gestures. It has the forms I draw, but at the same time I also envisaged a development of the straight lines of collectible toys, without a lot of gesturality but with strong graphics.
The gestures are so important, and it has a lot to do with whether the fists are closed, whether it standing or reclining and so on. The pose can transmit a sense of defeat or of determination. That is why The Guest is such a proud character, a guest who wishes to stay, who looks at you like the artist wants it to look at you. A character that can express itself through the graphics of creatives from anywhere in the world. That is the strength it has and a strength that is destined to last a long time.
Camille
Walala
TROMPE L’OEIL ART
“The main source of inspiration for my intervention on The Guest is the study of architectural forms and the way in which they interact with space. I create trompe l’oeils applied in 2D with a 3D optical effect, playing with color and patterns.” This is how Camille Walala describes her experience with our most iconic character.
After graduating in textile design, Camille Walala set up her own studio and brand in East and soon earning a name for her radical illustrations.
Her enthusiasm for graphic patterns and the use of color has given shape to a highly recognizable body of work acclaimed across the globe. Her versions of The Guest are full of contrasts, combining bright colors with intricate designs. The “slightly imperfect” abstract forms and hand-drawn lines create a dynamic and powerful visual effect.
Designers
The Guest
Colors
by
Lladró
Block colors
Metallic colors
Jaime
Hayon
Jaime Hayon
“Today, art’s ability to make us dream, imagine, reflect and even aspire is really important. Artistic explorations increasingly evince this special way of projecting ourselves in realities that move us and make us feel.”-Jaime Hayon
Unexpected, Captivating,
Unique...
The Guest is Lladró’s most captivating character. Ever since its creation ten years ago by the renowned designer Jaime Hayon, The Guest has been a blank canvas on which celebrated artists have intervened to tell all kinds of stories.
After seducing Hayon, the passion for detail of Lladró artisans has also won over Paul Smith, Tim Biskup, Devilrobots, Gary Baseman, Rolito…. These and other artists are invited to join a party of concepts, designs and colors, applied on the same canvas: an irreverent yet distinguished sculpture which has become a 21st-century icon.
Today these collaborations continue to demonstrate that tradition is open to experimentation and can take the most unexpected and conceptual paths.
Know
How
Know How
Handcrafted in Spain
“Understanding, appreciating and learning from artisanship has always been a crucial part of my work, which is a mix of tradition and culture. To preserve this source of learning it is necessary to couple it with design, with a view to advancing artisan techniques and to contextualizing their value in the present,” Jaime Hayon tells us.
The artisan process behind The Guest, with the countless steps involved, proves just how rewarding and fruitful the tandem between contemporary design and tradition is.
