By The Fire

The installation is structured around two mirrored living rooms placed within a single volume. Each contains the same architectural components: fireplace, seating, rugs, tables and wood panelling, articulated through different materials. One fireplace is made of Ceppo di Gré, the other of pastel-toned ceramic; both are composed of simple geometric volumes combined together. Symmetry establishes the spatial order, while variations in surface, colour and texture distinguish the two environments. It is the same idea, developed through different colours and materials.

The project engages with Italian postwar interior culture. The influence of Carlo Scarpa is present in the installation through a direct reference to the exhibition design he created in 1953 at the Palazzo Comunale in Messina for Antonello da Messina e la pittura del ’400 in Sicilia. Among the elements drawn from this reference are the pleated grey velvet walls and ceiling, made using a technique known as “calico plissettato”, together with the obsessive use of geometry applied to the wood panelling. The wool-and-silk rugs woven by La Manufacture Cogolin, based on graphic motifs by Nigel Peake, introduce a controlled layer of pattern across the floor. Francesco Simeti’s ceramic floral sculptures complete the composition, adding an artistic presence within the architectural structure. These references are integrated into the material and spatial language of the installation.

Material contrast defines the installation. Ceppo di Gré, ceramic, black granite and red travertine tables, triangular palmwood and oak panelling, and pleated grey velvet compose the environments. To these elements is added the selection of decorative pieces. The Digamma armchairs by Ignazio Gardella, designed in 1957, introduce a masterpiece of design into the ensemble, showing what it means to make a space feel alive. The lighting includes two historic wall lamps by Max Ingrand for Fontana Arte. In the same context, Luca Guadagnino presented Frenesi, a glass wall lamp designed by him and developed with Fontana Arte and 6:AM, previewed during the same Design Week.

The fireplace operates as an orienting device. Even without a flame, it draws the eye and encourages proximity. Moving between the two mirrored environments, the visitor registers subtle variations in temperature, reflectivity and acoustic perception. One space feels more Nordic in its materiality, the other more eclectic, while both remain part of the same system of signs.