Fabien Cappello

The Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), as part of its Design, Fashion, and Architecture Program, has invited designer Fabien Cappello to intervene in different spaces at EstaciónMAZ.

The installation stems from a series of exercises from Cappello’s most recent body of work, in which he revisits examples of lobbies, passageways, façades, and entrances of modern architecture in Latin America, specifically the cases of the University City of Caracas in Venezuela, designed and developed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva.

Cappello analyzes and acknowledges the function of the image in space, translating it into three-dimensional patterns that emerge from the wall as an architectural element. The wall not only confines, supports, or delineates, but becomes a configurative apparatus that redefines the experience of space.

By exploring the possibilities of materials linked to local Mexican culture, such as non-slip rubber—commonly used in gyms, factories, workshops, and work areas—Cappello takes advantage of its tactile properties and translates them into a series of strips that wrap around the space, forming a mural that unfolds as a large bench. This makes it possible to reestablish, through experience and perception, exchanges among users, facilitating other ways of inhabiting the lobby of EstaciónMAZ, thus emphasizing its public and social character.

Fabien Cappello is a designer of furniture, products, and spaces. He studied at ECAL in Switzerland and earned his master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in London. He founded his studio in 2010, focusing on materials and local manufacturing workshops. His work includes research residencies in Korea, Portugal, and Italy, where he collaborated with artisans and explored underused local materials.

Notable projects by Cappello include furniture for public spaces in Kingston upon Thames, a lighting exhibition in Bordeaux, and an installation in a 14th-century fortress in France. His designs reflect a strong connection to culture and place. In 2015, he was recognized as one of the 20 best designers under 40 by Wallpaper magazine and moved his studio to the historic center of Mexico City, where he embraced local material culture.

His most recent work aims to create culturally meaningful environments, shifting the focus from individual objects to comprehensive solutions for public and private spaces. Among his highlighted projects are a public intervention at Hotel Dos Casas, a reading room for Galería Archivo, and contributions to the Feria de Arte Material. Cappello advocates for a non-aspirational aesthetic that values overlooked materials and the cultural relevance of design.

— MAZ

Curator: José Antonio Sada Sánchez Mejorada
EstaciónMAZ