Draga & Aurel

Draga & Aurel is a multidisciplinary studio working across art, collectible design, and product design, based in Como. Founded in   2007 by designer Draga Obradovic and artist Aurel K. Basedow — partners in life as well as in work — the studio now counts a team   of 30 people active between design and in-house production. With a heterogeneous background spanning art, fashion, and   craftsmanship, Draga & Aurel are internationally recognized for an original language that merges rigorous design methodology with   an artistic approach to material and composition. Their first collections, Deshabillé (2007) and Heritage (2009), marked their debut   in the design world and introduced a pioneering experimentation with the upcycling of vintage objects, reinterpreted through a   contemporary sensibility.  Their dialogue with design history continued through early collaborations with the Italian company Baxter, launched in 2009 and   still ongoing — a partnership that helped propel Draga & Aurel onto the international stage.  The year 2019 marked a new turning point. During Milan Design Week, the studio presented TransparencyMatters, a collection of   eleven entirely handmade collectible design pieces exploring transparency as both an aesthetic and conceptual value. Transparency   understood as an attitude: clear, luminous, authentic. The collection decisively defined Draga & Aurel’s identity, intertwining   references to the artistic and cultural ferment of the 1970s with a material research centered on resin, combined with concrete and   metals. The success of TransparencyMatters was immediate and enduring. The collection has expanded over time with new pieces,   some created exclusively for international galleries such as Rossana Orlandi, Nilufar, and Todd Merrill Studio. Draga & Aurel’s works   have been presented at leading collectible design events, including NomadCircle, Salon Art + Design New York, Design Miami/, and   Downtown Design Dubai.  This international recognition paved the way for new collaborations with major companies in the sector, including Wall&decò,   Visionnaire, Poltrona Frau, Gallotti&Radice, and Giorgetti. Alongside design production, Aurel K. Basedow’s artistic research has   continued to evolve, expressed through powerful, evocative, and poetic works. Within Draga & Aurel, art and design run on parallel   and complementary tracks, in a constant dialogue that reinforces — and at times subverts — their meanings.