Italian design duo Draga & Aurel make their Dubai debut at Downtown Design 2025 in collaboration with COLLECTIONAL, the regional platform representing them across the GCC. Presented as a site-specific installation, the project captures the essence of the pair’s creative practicea, continuous conversation between artistic experimentation, material innovation, and the reinterpretation of collective memory.
Founded in 2007 by Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow, the multidisciplinary studio is celebrated for blurring the boundaries between art and design. Their work transforms materials into narratives, where color, light, and craftsmanship coexist with emotional depth. At Downtown Design, the duo unveils new evolutions of their signature series Transparency Matters and Heritage, two collections that encapsulate their fascination with the tension between permanence and transformation.
Transparency Matters explores the alchemy between resin and concrete through layered compositions that play with luminosity and depth, while Heritage revisits vintage furniture from the 1950s to 1980s, reinventing each piece with contemporary finishes and artisanal care. For Dubai, these explorations expand into new creations such as Soffio, a series of floor and suspension lamps that pay homage to the art of Murano glassblowing; Rescue Me, a sculptural reflection on upcycling, transforming remnants of past works into new resin forms; and the Cava and Lava tables, where weight and transparency coexist in a refined balance. The installation also features the Stendhal console and a gestural painting by Aurel K. Basedow, revealing the same expressive tension that runs through their three-dimensional works.
«It is in the dialogue between future and memory that our creative path continues to take shape», the duo explains. This ethos defines their partnership with COLLECTIONAL, whose curatorial vision celebrates craftsmanship, materiality, and storytelling.
The collaboration underscores Dubai’s growing position as a crossroads of global design — where European artistry meets Middle Eastern vision. In this debut, Draga & Aurel do not simply present objects; they invite reflection on time, transformation, and the emotional resonance of materials.
