The New
Cubism

Many children’s toys become battlegrounds for overly competitive parents, but none more so than the Rubik’s Cube. Not long after it first appeared in a Budapest toy shop in 1977, the six-sided puzzle became the world’s bestselling toy, with “cubers” of all ages enamored by the mathematical conundrums it posed.   

Although the craze wavered after the 1980s, the internet has since united a global community of “speedcubers” in pursuit of ever-faster rotations. Whereas it took the cube’s creator, Ernő Rubik, a full month to solve his own puzzle, the worldwide record, set in 2018, is now 3.47 seconds.

Inspired by its endless sequences, and to celebrate the launch of Mattonelle Margherita, Mutina’s first tile collaboration with the artist Nathalie du Pasquier, Kinfolk set about putting a contemporary spin on the Rubik’s Cube. Comprising 41 different hand-designed patterns, Mutina’s collection of graphic ceramic tiles contain enough possible permutations to keep even the most changeable designer occupied.

This post was produced in partnership with Mutina.

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