Not Your Mother’s Lladró: A Cityscape in Porcelain

Lladró, the Spanish makers of fine porcelain figures and decorative objects since 1953, shook things up in the tabletop world when they brought Madrid-born artist/designer Jamie Hayón on board in 2006 as creative consultant for the brand. The latest collection for the company’s Lladró Atelier division supervised by Hayón is Metropolis, an imaginary cityscape in porcelain that might just be the perfect symbol for the current fragile state of architecture. Debuted at last month’s Maison & Object show in Paris, Metropolis consists of seven intricately detailed “buildings” that function as vases, lamps, mirrors, and boxes, all in a muted colorway. According to Susana Rodriguez, who worked on the collection along with Inma Bermúdez and Ignacio Cuenca, “the inspiration for Metropolis came from what people imagine cities to be like. In it you can see a bit of New York City and some Arabic and Mudejar influences. You can recognize them all but they are not really from anywhere.”

The Metropolis collection display at Maison & Object in January 2011.