Fernando Laposse

Fernando Laposse specializes in transforming humble natural materials into refined design pieces. He has worked extensively with overlooked plant fibers such as sisal, loofah, and corn leaves. Laposse’s works are the result of extensive research which culminates in objects of ​“endemic design” where materials and their historical and cultural ties to a particular location and its people take center stage. He often works with indigenous communities in his native Mexico to create local employment opportunities and raise awareness about the challenges they face in a globalized world.

Laposse’s projects are informative and educational and touch on topics such as sustainability, the loss of biodiversity, community dissolution, migration, and the negative impacts of global trade in local agriculture and food culture. He does so by documenting the issues and announcing possible resolutions through the transformative power of design.

Laposse’s projects have been exhibited in the Triennale di Milano, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, The Design Museum in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the World Economic Forum, among others. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Design Museum Gent, Le centre national des arts plastiques, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Laposse studied at Central Saint Martins in London as a product designer and currently lives and works in Mexico City.

Presented in partnership with Design Core Detroit. This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.

Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Radio.