Product watch: Mutina by Parkside – monochrome with meaning

730 565 Hamish Kilburn
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Product watch: Mutina by Parkside – monochrome with meaning

Chymia, a collaboration between Mutina and Laboratorio Avallone is the latest monochrome porcelain tile collection available in full exclusively at Parkside. Hotel Designs explores…

Chymia fluctuates between the discipline of graphic design, expressive gestures of mark making and the two extremes of black and white, where symbols and textures are combined to create patterns of light and shadow on the surface.

Black forms the basis, in a distinctive tone created by designer Gennaro Avallone, with the patterns taking on various shades of black all the way through to white. Throughout the collection, black and white are never separate but co-exist, with each pattern also available in white, taking on various shades all the way through to black in a reversal of role.

A hotel room door with monochrome tiles on the corridor floor

Image credit: Parkside

Each of the 22 (11 black, 11 white) designs in Chymia is obtained by combining the principle black and white structures with 11 patterned textures, achieving a tile that can be used randomly in monochrome compositions. The collection involved research on glazes and raw materials, along with the combination of traditional applications and modern technology to achieve the absolute colours used.

Chymia came to life in a collaborative project between ceramics manufacturer Mutina and Laboratorio Avallone, a Milan-based studio whose research reaches in to painting and sculpture to create unique objects of contemporary furnishing. The collection was developed with the aim of making a break with traditional styles, restoring an original quality to ceramics with unexpected outcomes.

monochrome walls and floors in modern bathroom

Image credit: Parkside

“Chymia is a collection that’s full of surprises,” said Sarah Holey, marketing manager, Parkside. “Taking the apparent simplicity of monochromatic pattern, it reveals that careful experimentation and attention to the creation of pure colours can bring depth and new-found results to a seemingly traditional black and white palette. Infusing new meaning into checkerboard or bringing more depth and nuance to all-over black or white, it offers some hugely exciting opportunities for designers and we’re delighted to welcome it to the Parkside portfolio.”

Chymia is available in 30 x 30cm porcelain tiles for wall or floor use, supplied in individual patterns in black or white.

Parkside Architectural Tiles is one of our recommended suppliers. To keep up to date with their news, click here. And, if you are interested in becoming one of our recommended suppliers, please email  Katy Phillips by clicking here.

Main image credit: Parkside Architectural Tiles

Hamish Kilburn / 19.08.2020

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