The Past, Present, and Future of UNNO
From Uno, the Spanish word for one comes unno: UNNO.
UNNO refers to the idea that Latin American cultures, countries, and peoples share a common heritage that unites them. It aims to reach back to the discoverers, the makers, and the narrators who came before them, bringing the brilliance and ingenuity of their forebears into the modern landscape of collectible design.
Founded by María Dolores Uribe and Laura Abe Vettoretti in 2019, UNNO is a synergetic partnership between two enterprising women, as much as a partnership between art and design, classicism and modernity, and cultural and historical significance.
A regarded designer, interior design director, and sculptor, the influence of Laura Abe Vettoretti's creative sensibilities are plain to see in the oeuvre of UNNO. The sentimentality and reverence for her heritage are evident in her material work, a significant facet of her curatorial efforts.
María Dolores Uribe's background is also in design, being herself the co-founder of a thriving textile and furniture showroom studio. Uribe's deftness at navigating the commercial design industry's glut is of particular value when it comes to the refined nature of UNNO's vision and in establishing the clarity of the project's overarching ethos.
UNNO launches later next month, taking the shape of an innovative online project — the first digital design gallery of its kind. It is a virtual exhibition space that intends to defy borders both geographic and individual, purpose made to highlight and celebrate contemporary Latin American design.
“Since we are all citizens of the world,” says UNNO co-founder Laura Abe Vettoretti. “The project aims to share with every one of us — regardless of our nationality — the exquisite potential of contemporary Latin American artists, as well as the millenarian wisdom and craftsmanship that influences their work.”
Photo © Mariana Valdovi
Photo © Mariana Valdovi
UNNO’s debut exhibition is called Leitmotif — Life to the Myth. A celebration of shared identity and rich and storied heritage, Vettoretti and Uribe have curated a revelatory collection that, in their words, "…keeps our ancestors alive through their tectonic significance, adding the power of our authentic identity as inhabitants of the contemporary world."
The collection was shot at 32 General Prim, a Porfirian house from the beginning of the twentieth century located in the Colonia Juarez neighbourhood of Mexico City. The house survived the Mexican Revolution and later became the home of a tobacco brand, before being restored by renowned architect Alberto Kalatch in 2014.
Chosen by Uribe and Vettoretti as the perfect frame for their ideas, the space, they say, “is a place that celebrates historical, cultural, and artistic values. Its main courtyard, double heights, and vegetation rooted in the building caught our eye,” says Vettoretti. “This house immediately established a connection with the mysterious and poetic aura that characterizes UNNO.”
Among the talented artisans and makers showcased in the exhibition will be Mexican design studio Bandido Studio, C. S. Nuñez, an industrial and interior designer, Abe Vettoretti — the artist alias of Laura Abe Vettoretti — along with Ian Felton.
Bandido Studio was founded in 2016 by Alejandro Campos and Joel Rojas, who are both industrial designers. Based in Puebla in south-central Mexico, the studio's primary focus is lighting and furniture design inspired by the pair's shared cultural heritage, with a dedication to promoting the local economy and the development of Mexican craftsmanship.
C. S. Nuñez, also based in Mexico, aims to create timeless yet contemporary pieces that add value to posterity. His collection in the showing is devoted to the sensations and experiences of human nature, discovering vestiges of ancestral cultures, and bonding those feelings with the modern era.
Brooklyn-based multi-disciplinary creative Ian Felton's work integrates industrial design, furniture design, and sustainable design. Felton's recent work has seen a focus on exploring the juxtaposition of pre-Colombian animism with the modern urban landscape we encounter today.
The interconnected values, techniques, and intentions behind each facet of the overall Leifmotif 2020 UNNO collection are a mindful and loving dedication to the makers and traditions that came before. In a bare sense, it seeks to connect the modern-day with ancestral traditions through practical methods and primary materials.
Some of the materials consciously used throughout the collection — which contains pieces including lamps, tables and side-tables, screens, shelves, floor and wall textiles, and various objets d'art — are metals, local stone, jade, obsidian, lava rock, and fiberglass.
In celebration of their opening and debut collection, we spoke with UNNO co-founders María Dolores Uribe and Laura Abe Vettoretti about bringing Leifmotif 2020 — Life to the Myth together, and their hopes for the future of the platform:
Tell us a bit about yourselves, your backgrounds, and how you came together as UNNO?
Laura is an architect and artist with a high sensitivity for life poetics through design, which translates to every aspect of her life.
Maria Dolores is a designer who travels the world looking for the most exquisite designs and pieces of art.
We came together as UNNO after lengthy discussions about design, and noticing the portrait of Latin American design to the world is not always how we see it — pure, deep, raw, mystic, and elegant. We aimed to connect and capture our transcendental roots and give rise to a cultural breaking point, portraying the intellectual assets of our represented designers as a reliable sample of contemporary collectible design.
You collaborate with a lot of young and upcoming designers; what is it like working with emerging talents? How do you select the creatives you work with?
It has been a fantastic journey. The gallery is run by and for young talents and conveys a constant exchange of ideas, which has nurtured the gallery itself.
We select our creatives when we notice unique poetry in them and an authentic passion for design. Getting to know them in person is groundbreaking for us; the way they communicate their drive for design and life itself is essential.
We seek perfection in execution, a break from the status quo, and experimenting with unique materials.
What would you describe as the connecting tissue between the designs and pieces that come together under UNNO? What elements or ideas are consistent or defining?
All the pieces under UNNO are in homage to our culture and land: the abstraction and rawness of the visual language inherited by our forefathers resulting in design pureness; the connection between time, space, and art, resulting in pieces that speak of spatial and sempiternal memories; historical, essential tremors; and the perfection of executing pure poetry.
Are the designers' pieces exclusive to UNNO, or can they also be curated from the designer's pre-existing works?
Most of them have been created exclusively for UNNO, and the pieces added from pre-existing collections aim to bring a curatorial contrast.
Once chosen to be part of the collection, is UNNO involved in the production process of a piece, or are you only acting from a design standpoint?
We are very involved in the production process. We like to learn about the pieces creation process so that we can translate it to our clients. Also, working hand in hand with the maestros and their millenarian knowledge is a pleasure.
Do you follow any fundamental principles or guidelines when curating pieces, or would you say it is more of a subjective, organic process? Or perhaps somewhere in between?
It's a little bit of both. We have specific guidelines, but then when you see the pieces and start noticing particular dialogues between them, it becomes very organic. It is best to have a plan, but then the symphony creates itself with all the elements involved — such as the architecture of a space and natural light.
Any hopes or desires for the future of UNNO?
We hope to keep nurturing our communities and placing Latin America at the top of collectible design and to add value to the collections of renowned collectors. To create amazing bespoke projects along with the best architecture and design firms, expose in the top exclusive art and design fairs, and open our next physical galleries in Italy, in the Middle East, Asia, and the US.
