Project by: Vincenzo de Cotis
Place: London, United Kingdom Photographer: Courtesy of Vincenzo de Cotiis Architects and Gallery
Publications: Dezeen 1 October 2018
Italian architect Vincenzo de Cotiis combines recycled fibreglass with precious materials to create his En Plein Air objects, which were shown in London.
Each piece comprises semi-precious stone and cast brass set in resin, alongside elements of fibreglass and Murano glass.
"I always start from materials – they've always been part of my research. But they all come together with a sort of line, which in this case is the material of recycled fibreglass," De Cotiis. "I start from a design or a sketch that then builds the materiality of the piece."
"In this specific project it was a more complex process," he said, "because I started from the point of view of painting. Treating a sculpture as a painting is a bit contradictory."
Pieces include a tall lamp in cast brass and Indian stone, with two neon light strips stacked vertically within it, and a wall-hung cabinet with a stone casing and a silvered brass front that stands almost two metres tall.
Many of the pieces feature irregular blocks stacked on top of each other, and are slanted or leaning. The function of each object is not always immediately clear.
Tall stone and brass bookcases are placed in the gallery so that the viewer can't immediately see the shelves – these reveal themselves on the opposite side. The brass of the shelves has been cast with planks of wood so that it takes on its grain and markings.
Recycled fibreglass forms a patinated shell around the shelves of another bookcase.
The name of the exhibition, En Plein Air, came from the late 19th century French painters who left their studios to work outside.
"I'm trying to take from Impressionist paintings, when the ateliers were starting to close down and painters were going outside to paint, taking everything such as the light, materials and colours, as key concepts. I used these in my sculptures," explained De Cotiis.
