KINFOLK Web 2018
Zinovatnaya
A Saint Petersburg studio with a Sottsass-inspired spirit.
-
From faded 1970s mustard tones to seaside pistachios, forest greens, deep night-sky blues and urgent reds, the color combinations of Russian designer Daria Zinovatnaya are bold and unusual. “When I use color in my work,” she says, “it comes alive. I wish that people were not so afraid of using lots of color.” The work of Zinovatnaya’s eponymous St. Petersburg studio extends to industrial, furniture and interior design, and has been commissioned for apartments, hotels and restaurants from Russia to the United States. Born in Crimea, Zinovatnaya grew up admiring 20th-century design. Now, at 25, she is still enraptured by the work of Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass; in her work you can see reflections of Sottsass’ use of “simple shapes and a variety of colors.” She incorporates elements of other modern designers, too, from Spanish artist-designer Jaime Hayon to the emotive work of Milanese agency Studiopepe.