NEW YORK, NY.- Carpenters Workshop Gallery | New York is presenting Baroquisme, a solo gallery exhibition of works by contemporary Italian designer Vincenzo De Cotiis, from April 26th through June 23rd. The exhibition, the artist’s second in the US, presents the sculptural collection Baroquisme, the artist’s tribute to the daring, experimental spirit of the Italian Baroque.
In the series, De Cotiis emphasizes decoration vis-à-vis an architectural sensibility, creating a contemporary twist of shapes and functions by pairing precious noble materials - silvered castbrass, French marble, Murano glass - steeped in rich artistic heritage with unexpected contemporary materials such as fiberglass.
The artist’s perspective: “The design is certainly generating part of the idea. The organic gestures of Baroquisme are the result of a long design process in order to obtain the shapes I had in my mind. A continuous chisel, to remove and add; similar to the work of a sculptor or the drawings of Giacometti. Often, I already have in mind what kind of material I want to use; sometimes it’s precisely the material itself that modifies or enriches the work during the construction process, leading to surprising results.”
Comprised of 15 sculptural designs, the collection of seating, lighting, tables and cabinets are editioned or one-of-a-kind pieces. Each work is handmade by Italian artisans with specific material specializations including masters of glasswork in Murano. The glass, which the artist describes as ‘the most ambiguous of matter’, is molded in shapes and infused with color in unanticipated ways, evoking the sinuous expansion of an ink spill suspended in liquid.
Born in 1958 in Gonzaga, Italy. Vincenzo De Cotiis studied architecture at the ‘‘Politecnico di Milano’’. He opened his current studio and gallery in 1997.
De Cotiis finds beauty in the patina of life, as seen in his architecture and interiors projects for private homes, hotels, restaurants, and retail boutiques across the globe, as well as in his furniture and design work. His signature approach is the combined use of new and reclaimed materials, with the marks of age left exposed in order to harness their incomplete qualities. He aims for perfect imperfection, achieved through deconstruction, reconstruction, and re-appropriation of salvaged materials. In his work, the original form of the materials are often difficult to identify, but their history is always visible.
Vincenzo De Cotiis designs one-off and limited edition pieces. The highly collectible works are showcased in his gallery in Milan and in Carpenters Workshop Gallery and exhibited at leading global design fairs, including Design Miami/Basel, PAD London, Dubai Design Week, and the Art Paris Art Fair.
