Compasso, 2019
Grigio Carnico marble
192 × 45 × 160 cm
Comissioned by Wallpaper* Magazine
Presented at Salone dei Tessuti, Milan
In Compasso, the archetype of the public bench is reimagined as an intimate monument to proximity. Conceived for Wallpaper’s Handmade exhibition under the theme of love, the work transforms a familiar urban typology into a sculptural gesture carved entirely from Grigio Carnico marble—an object that invites closeness, connection, and shared presence.
Rather than offering a linear seat that separates bodies, Martini bends the bench inward, drawing its two halves toward a shared center. The result is a seamless circular form that gently encourages those who sit upon it to lean inward, to come closer, to inhabit a shared emotional space. The curvature is not only formal but symbolic: shaped not by function, but by emotional intent.
Compasso is marked by essentiality, where its monumental stillness and precise form reflects the continued investigation into how geometry and material can express humanity.
