THE SCULPTURAL LIGHTNESS OF BEING || Gabriel Tan and Gen Taniguchi Illuminate Molteni&C Lisbon
There’s an ethereal tranquillity to washi paper, one that turns even the simplest form into poetry.
At Lisbon Design Week 2025, the Molteni&C Flagship Store transformed into a sanctuary of softness and structure, where the boundaries between sculpture, lighting, and furniture design blurred into a single, sensory experience. The collaboration between Porto-based Singaporean designer Gabriel Tan and Japanese washi master Gen Taniguchi was more than an exhibition—it was a meditation on light, craftsmanship, and the quiet power of materials.
Guided by the theme “Light as a feather, as it flows, as it follows, as it forms,” the installation featured a collection of bespoke lamps designed by Tan’s studio, made in collaboration with Nao Washi, a 300-year-old handmade paper mill run by Taniguchi in Saga, Japan. These pieces were paired with sculptural washi artworks by Taniguchi himself, each expressing an organic tension between fragility and resilience.
Obelisk-shaped washi lamps cast a warm glow beside a sculptural chaise lounge in the Molteni&C Flagship Store in London. Light is filtered through delicately textured washi paper.
Within the architectural rhythm of the Molteni&C showroom, the lamps—softly glowing in obelisk, flag, and lantern forms—offered a tactile counterpoint to the sharp linearity of the furniture. Their presence wasn’t decorative; it was emotional. Light filtered through paper with the delicacy of breath, diffusing warmth into every surface it touched. The effect was not just seen, but felt.
Graphic silhouettes and slim floor lamps anchor a corner of the installation.
Gabriel Tan, known for his curatorial finesse and design restraint, composed the lighting and furniture like a haiku—minimal yet meaningful. Each placement invited pause. Each shape engaged the senses. The interplay of textures—hand-pressed fibres, brushed wood, rich upholstery—brought dimensionality to a palette of neutrals.
At the heart of the installation was a reverence for tradition. Gen Taniguchi’s heritage as a seventh-generation washi maker imbued each object with history, while the design language of Tan’s studio translated that history into contemporary form. This dialogue across cultures and generations embodied Molteni&C’s ongoing commitment to celebrating global artisanship through modern design.
What emerged in Lisbon was not simply a product showcase, but a slow, deliberate composition in light. A reminder that illumination can do more than brighten a room—it can elevate it into ritual.
As the glow of Lisbon Design Week fades, this installation lingers in the memory not as spectacle, but as sculpture; one that breathes, listens, and radiates quiet strength.
Gabriel Tan with Flag lamp, Molteni&C Flagship Store Lisbon.
Gen Taniguchi with Washi sculptures, Molteni&C Flagship Store Lisbon.
Photography by Inês Silva Sá
