Incollect Magazine - Issue 3 Preview

Issue 3 10 www.incollect.com Featured Artisan Do you envision your objects in interiors when you initially design and make them, with a specific place or space in mind, or do you think of them as standalone works of art? Well, it depends if they are on commission or not. If I have a commission project I’d love to imagine them in their environment, as a matter of fact I rarely start a project without a physical site visit or virtual one. On the other hand, as a sculptor, I work without compromises and I am totally free to imagine them freestanding in my space. What is going on in your head when you begin a design? To me, an artist is a combination of people, places, intentions, elements, lights and influences, with an immature/mature touch. Where do you get your stone materials and do you shape and form them yourself? I visit quite often my favorite quarries and suppliers wherever they are, they are my natural playgrounds. Working with stone involves teamwork, there are so many skills needed and involved. Is there a material you haven’t worked with yet but would like to work with? Yes, glass blowing could be my next exploration. I love working with fire and its alchemic power. Tell us about your background and training. Very easy, from a degree in finance to a Mastership in Fine Arts and Crafts, as a self-taught artist, of course! Can you describe the process of evolution and transformation from an initial idea for a design to completion of an object? I think that this is the magic of the human being: Imagine and create…no rules…from dust to beauty. How much do ideas of age, of permanence and impermanence play into your thinking? Stratification and transparency, the possibility to describe time is very fascinating to me. I love to dive into the history, the evidence of ages of a stone like looking at a sky full of stars. by Benjamin Genocchio Gianluca Pacchioni On How Looking at a Sky Full of Stars Inspires Creativity in Design Sophie Negropontes, founder and director of the renowned Negropontes Galerie in Paris first met Gianluca Pacchioni several years ago when he was showing his bronze panels at a gallery. “I thought immediately how incredible they were, huge and detailed at the same time, modern and classical,” she says. “I knew I wanted to work together.” Ms. Negropontes loves all of Pacchioni’s pieces, each in a different way, but her personal favorite is Metaphysical Cube, made of cast bronze, liquid bronze, polished brass and a piece of white onyx. “It is a stunning cube form in snow white onyx made with the Kintsugi technique. It floats on delicate bronze legs like a ballerina and the inside finish is an amazing patinated brass.” She describes it as “poetry made concrete.” There is something very Italian about his design work, in the way he mixes modernity with classicism, specifically classical baroque. His details and finishes are minute and exact, but not always immediately evident — like a philosopher building a written theory or idea, he likes the true nature and purpose of a piece to be revealed slowly over time. Little wonder that his minimal, conceptual works inspire devotion among collectors, interior designers and savvy design connoisseurs.