Sandro and Artist Yuko Nishikawa Launch an Eco-friendly Partnership with 1stDibs for Your Home

In a statement-making partnership, Parisian label Sandro commissioned Brooklyn-based ceramicist Yuko Nishikawa to design an array of art installations for a select few of their store locations, BAZAAR.com can exclusively reveal.

Tapping into the Japanese artist’s ability to bring physical pieces of work to life, the contemporary brand gave Nishikawa carte blanche to design freely, which led to a collection of dangling papier-mâché mobiles. Each piece was made unique and entirely by hand using recycled materials and color stories that pay homage to a 100-day painting project she had started at the beginning of the pandemic.

“I felt trapped inside and longed for nature,” Nishikawa divulges to BAZAAR. “The paintings I made [during] that time contained forms like dangling beans and stems growing from the ground, with patches and dots of greens and pinks. I stayed inside the walls of my apartment, and because of that, I wanted to feel the joy of living, positive energy and growth, and celebrate life. The mobiles are three-dimensional forms of these paintings.”

It’s this liveliness that attracted Sandro’s founder, Evelyne Chétrite, to Nishikawa in the first place. “I have always admired the artists who managed to work with papier-mâché,” the artistic director explains. “I like the contrast between the humility of the material and what it becomes—a piece of art and the emotion that it gives,” she adds.

When it comes to her process, Nishikawa explains that it’s less about the end goal and more about the journey, comparing it to a hike in the woods and exploring all that every turn and bend has to offer. “Where [the] inspiration comes from is not as important [to me],” she reveals. “I just need to start somewhere. I don’t want inspiration somewhere out there in a very special remote place or time. I want to find it right where I am.”

With in-person art exhibitions nearly nonexistent due to the restrictions of the pandemic, the partnership with Sandro has been a great opportunity for Nishikawa’s work to not only reach new audiences, but to also be enjoyed by all. As a result, the brand committed to the first collaboration of its kind by offering art lovers the chance to purchase their own piece from the collection, which is available exclusively at luxury secondhand retailer 1stDibs, with a portion of the proceeds going to One Tree Planted. The nonprofit is near and dear to Nishikawa’s heart as she hopes to give back what the earth has given to her tenfold.

“When I make physical work, I want to think about where [it] will go,” she states. “As a person who produces work using resources, I want to be able to give back, [and] I am happy that I was able to produce the artwork [by] turning waste paper into a clay-like material that I could turn into the artwork. It’s an example that it’s possible to make beautiful uplifting objects from unconventional material—paper that is no longer usable as the original intention of the paper product.”

“We’re so pleased to be part of this collaboration between artist Yuko Nishikawa and the brand Sandro Paris in support of One Tree Planted,” says Nancy Hood, 1stDibs’ chief marketing officer. “We are also delighted to support creatives, especially independent makers and artists, who make the world a more beautiful place every day.”

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