Rilievi Lido
florim > Wall Paint
The alternation and symbiosis between concave and convex, recessed and raised. <p>Rilievi is a work of design balanced between different historic periods: while the volumetric relief tile modules are inspired by artistic experiments conducted in Italy during the Sixties and Seventies, the large slabs are the outcome of research into materials and technology that has only come to fruition in very recent times. The shadow effects generated on the surfaces of the slabs by the light striking the projecting parts of the modules create an unusual impression of architectural depth found virtually nowhere else in ceramic coverings, laying the bases for a new decoration interior design language.</p> This project simply embodies perfection - a term which certainly sets the bar high in a description of a new product for launch on the market. But when an enlightened manufacturer is capable of encapsulating a designer's personal research in a product to be added to its range, the outcome is a perfect synthesis. A perfect synthesis between untrammelled creativity and market trends. CEDIT had the insight needed to perceive, identify and rework the immense potential of Practice Practice Practice "“ a self-produced project by Zaven (Enrica Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno "“ and realised that its sophisticated design, originated by pure, pristine input (unadulterated by external factors except the noblest of them all, research) could provide the basis for an innovative, successful collection. I might add, a collection unique of its kind. Zaven is also a name that comes with guarantees; the two partners are good at what they do. Their work always starts from personal curiosity and investigations, the study of other stories (as in this case inspiration was drawn from the output of artist and activist Nino Caruso) and individual interests, which are broken down, developed, optimised and prepared for transformation into something fresh.Enrica Cavarzan and Marco Zavagno have a masterly ability to transform their own wishes and passions into design work of the greatest breadth and, as we see here, the widest, richest application. Their use of ceramics as a material is clearly outstanding and reflects a method precisely founded on the desire to look at things from an unusual viewpoint, under a different light. And to be daring. Zaven have an unconventional approach to convention. In the specific case of the Rilievi collection, the "modules" created for CEDIT seem to explode off the walls; in fact, they are constructed by combining the two-dimensional slab with its three-dimensional decor.Rilievi seems to be seeking space. More space. Even though these modules have actually established a dialogue with the wall from which they are born. At the same time, they hypnotise us with their tight sequence of lines, the pattern that is always different although its root is the same, and the intriguing, unusual colours that add another vital factor to the finished product. Their firm grounding in graphic design (and here we have come back to two-dimensional effects, of the kind most often associated with a wall covering) easily evolves into a facade which seems to have been carved with a chisel - although this is not the case. These modules are conceived to convey an impression of movement, and the three models, in seven colour combinations, create a powerful effect on a surface, which is never passive but rather an organic contributor to the forms and colours involved in the fascinating combinations. The slab is very much present and has the same worth and status as the relief pattern associated to it. In the light of this dichotomy between the linear and the sculpted, expressed through the skilfully balanced visual expedients, the use of repetition adds vigour to the module's intrinsic meaning. As we have seen, a rejection of facile, superficial creative dynamics in favour of an investigation reaching above and beyond has always been a central, clearly recognisable feature of this Venice-based duo, who already have impressive international partnerships to their credit, including the London Design Festival, the Kalmar Konstmuseum, the Paris Designer Days, Ca' Foscari University, the Venice Biennale, the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation, the Sindika Dokolo Foundation and the V-A-C Foundation, and also won the 2018 Wallpaper Design Award. Graphics, advertising and product design: the pair have always opted for a type of design closely linked to the observation of everyday items, followed by their reinterpretation in a version applied to experimentation with materials. This duality, combined with their energetic yet elegant visual language, forms Enrica and Marco's primary code, experienced in this specific context through serial carvings. On walls.
Policroma Cipria
florim > Wall Paint
Recurring geometries, combinations of figures. Marble and marmorino plaster: comparison and dialogue. The collection is completed by a linear listello tile with the motif of a sequence of vertical rectangular blocks, which can be combined with the slabs to further enrich compositions involving continuous ceramic surfaces cladding.<br /><br />"Another reference is the use of Italian marbles on the verge of extinction, rare marbles such as Rosa Valtoce, the marble used in Milan Cathedral."<br />Cristina Celestino Cristina Celestino's smartphone contains a folder of images entitled "Milan". Photographs that are more like notes. Photographs of architectural features, materials or details of shapes encountered by chance during a walk, but they cannot be described as merely a vague "source of inspiration". This filing system, created in response to a fleeting instinct, is an integral part of the method of work adopted by the architect and designer, who starts off without preconceptions "“ or "free", as she puts it before drawing inputs from a vast world of references, from Hermès scarves to the works of the great Masters (in the specific case of Policroma). This accumulation, partly spontaneous and party the outcome of in-depth historical knowledge and study, naturally activates a process of synthesis and personal interpretation common to all Cristina Celestino's output.<br /><br /><br />The wall covering collection designed for Cedit was no exception, although in this case the designer was dealing with a project with variable dimensions, reaching up even to the architectural scale. In her own distinctive way, she combined a variety of references. Adolf Loos's passion for coloured types of marble, and Cipollino in particular. Carlo Scarpa's angular metal frames and Marmorino plaster in Venice. The French fashion house's square silk scarves. The entrance halls of Milan palazzos, Gio Ponti, the city's Cathedral. All expressed in the designer's own language: well balanced geometrical forms, subtle colours (shades similar to those of Scarpa himself), an effortless, almost restrained, playful elegance. The mood is that of the homes of the enlightened bourgeoisie who shaped the history of Milan, Celestino's adoptive city and an endless source of inputs. She has worked its interiors, including some of the least expected a 1928 tram, the historic Cucchi confectionery store hybridising her own style with the existing context. An imitative effect which is also the key to the meaning of the new Policroma collection: the marble varieties replicated using the Cedit technology are all from Italian quarries that are virtually "worked out". This revives an increasingly rare material as a "living" presence, in a different form which makes no claim to replace the natural original. Quite the contrary, Celestino immediately states her intention to imitate, by combining marble and Marmorino plaster in some variants with a contrasting frame (a typical feature for her, just as it was for Scarpa), and evoking the centuries-old marble-imitating scagliola plasterwork with a contemporary formula.<br /><br /><br />The types of marble chosen are central to the project's character. Verde Alpi, a favourite with Gio Ponti and often found in Milan entrance halls, features tightly packed patterning. Breccia Capraia, still found in a very few places in Tuscany, has a white background with just a few veins. Cipollino, in the special Ondulato variety in green and red, is patterned with spirals. Rosa Valtoce, on the other hand, was used by the "Veneranda Fabbrica" guild to build Milan Cathedral. It is an iconic stone with dramatic stripes, popular in the past; it is now sourced from one very small quarry in Piedmont which has been virtually abandoned.<br /> The many different elements that make up the Policroma collection all reflect the importance of craftsmanship to Cristina Celestino's design style: the modules can be freely mixed and combined, for example to create a concave or convex semicircle, or for the large-scale replication of small features initially conceived as trims, functional details transformed into a dominant motif.There is a return to the theme of the interior, a large or small protected space, conceived as suspended in space and time yet also reassuring and protective. It is designed through its coverings in a stark yet not minimalist way, with intelligence and with no overreaching artistic ambitions. An understated space and an extremely stylish declaration. In Milan style, of course.
