Fabulous and at the same time extremely functional furniture by theater artist Viktor Nikonenko

Passing the gallery

Text: Lyudmila Kryshtaleva

A photo: Mikhail Stepanov, Vitaly Nefedov

Magazine: (41) 2000

The furniture of Victor Nikonenko is very emotional, pleasing, a bit fabulous and extremely functional. Perhaps the secret is that its author is a theater artist. Victor works in drama and ballet, and more recently in puppet shows. An attempt to direct the atmosphere of the interior with the help of furniture is also in the design works of Nikonenko. Perhaps that is why it is so pleasant to the eye and comfortable body.Victor has been designing furniture for less than two years, but an individual, memorable style has already emerged. - Once I was invited to arrange the showroom of the company LUMI, then the exhibition stands. And then a client who ordered partitions from us asked to make furniture for him. So it all began. By the time we have glued beech. The material dictates the shape. Smooth lines were born from the need to beat the rectangular checkered glued array, to defeat this surface, to save the texture. Due to its complex shape, smooth lines, the drawing of a wooden canvas looks more expensive. He is a contour within which a random drawing of a tree acquires artistry. Glued beech is, after all, an array, and I remembered pieces of wood beautifully processed by the swift current of Siberian rivers (I come from Irkutsk). I wanted to reproduce a polished teardrop-shaped form, to imitate the holes washed with water. My first thing - a children's bunk bed - was very sophisticated and ... unsuccessful. I tried to imitate nature and failed. It was necessary to strive for a logical, convenient, functional form. The first bed was super-functional: if the wall, then the library, if there is at least some free space, then a shelf for toys from the kinder surprise appears. It is preserved. After the bed we made a table. He looks like a bird or a plane, we called it "Stealth", and so it stuck. The table was not made to order, and we had enough time. By the way, three successful models: Stealth, Sunshine Rack, and Module Module shelves were made "nowhere," so now we are thinking about creating an experimental base. Stealth grew, really, like a model airplane. At the beginning I composed the form - spread wings. Together with the head of LUMI, an engineer by training, and our cabinetmaker, we thought through the design. To make the table stand well, skis were added to the corner leg. The table top seemed empty, and I composed an unusual CD case. It protrudes above the surface and closes with the help of blinds (I began to use them to maintain my favorite smooth line).Here they are, drama and direction, which we spoke about at the very beginning. They also explain the "super-functionality" of Nikonenko furniture. The designer does not just invent a practical subject; he wants his works to be loved. For Victor it is very important that the furniture is warm, that you want to touch and stroke her. - Undoubtedly, the style already exists. This is evidenced by the fact that architects are ordering furniture, using our work. At the same time, the order does not imply free flight of fancy. There are many restrictions: customer requirements, the capabilities of the company, the material with which it works. However, I see this as conditions that must be beaten. I want to be an artist in everything. Fate chose a furniture business for me, and I am terribly interested in doing it. This is a new world, and I have something to say."In the theater, I took care not to repeat myself," and in the furniture business, Victor succeeds in amazing constructive and aesthetic finds. For example, the “Royal” table for a small kitchen will easily double in circumference when guests arrive. Amazing simplicity and ... wit. The same qualities are inherent in another model - shelves "Sun". The artist turned the dull rear wall of the boisry into a sparkling image by simply making it round! The latest development "Module" includes the game moment. First, the shelves can be hung in different ways, due to the irregularity of the lines they will look different every time.Secondly, they successfully implement the idea of ​​modularity. “As for the program,” Victor continues, “there is none.” There is a certain direction, there is material. It seems to me that for today's interior the color of natural beech is very accurate. Soon a more dense, more difficult to process tree - pear will become fashionable. I look forward to the opportunity to do something.