Montreal’s design scene lights up with new show inspired by camping in the wilderness

Montreal’s renowned mid-winter deep freezes haven’t hindered Canadian lighting designers Lambert & Fils from providing warmth for the city’s blossoming design community. The design duo has devised a lighting exhibition based around the concept of the campfire entitled ‘Feu De Camp’. Set in their shiny new gallery space, Corridor, they teamed up with Swiss designer Adrien Rovero, whom they met while collaborating on window installations for French fashion house Hermès, to create an exhibition that playfully examines camping and its various accoutrements.

‘The installation is aimed at bringing together our community during mid-winter to celebrate and help us launch our new gallery, Corridor,’ explains Lambert & Fils co-founder Samuel Lambert. ‘We invited Adrien Rovero to collaborate on the first exhibition and the idea for “Feu De Camp” kind of snowballed into an exploration of shape and materials. As Montreal winters can be brutal, we loved his idea of a metaphorical campfire, by which people could gather, drink nice wine and socialise.’

Rendered in ‘boy scout green’, the installation evokes the archetypes of flashlights and match heads — indispensable tools required for the wilderness. These are arranged around a central node, 12 lamps mimicking campers gathered around a campfire. ‘The collection and installation were inspired by boy scouts and childhood imagination,’ Lambert continues, ‘as an exploration of shape and materials, it was an invitation for Rovero to design a lighting installation using simple yet refined elements like extruded tubes, industrial elastics, and electrical wires.’

‘I really appreciated those moments,’ reminisces Rovero on his short-lived tenure with the boy scouts, an experience that informed this exhibition. ‘Constructing camps and all the features and making things with only surrounding elements brings very interesting typologies. My work as a designer is really focused on that, trying to find the most efficiency with the materials and process available. Working with extrusions, pipes and a glass diffuser were my “context” for playing around.’

As the inaugural show within Lambert & Fils newly christened space, ‘Feu De Camp’ sets the tone for Corridor’s programme to come. ‘Our vision for the space is to showcase projects that challenge the intersection between design and artistic practices while fostering connections between Montreal and our broader international communities,’ explains Lambert.

The duo have pencilled in a group show entitled ‘Studio Edition’ composed of emerging Canadian designers for the next exhibition, opening in April. Lambert muses, ‘Corridor is a space for creators, thinkers, and producers who are pushing the boundaries of art and design.’ 

INFORMATION

‘Feu de Camp’ is on view until 23 February. For more information, visit the Lambert & Fils website

ADDRESS

6250 Hutchinson Street
Montreal
H2V 4B7

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS