Installation of objects in marble, glass, and metal
Exhibited at Herança Cultural Gallery, São Paulo Design Week
In Frio, Gustavo Martini stages a conceptual excavation—an imagined archaeological site where the everyday language of furniture is unearthed and misunderstood. The installation consists of 18 sculptural objects, built from six original forms repeated in three materials: marble, glass, and metal. Each material acts as a layer of meaning: marble as mass, glass as surface, and metal as structure. Though abstract in tone, the combination reflects Martini’s sculptural language of line, plane, and volume.
Arranged directly on the floor in disoriented positions, the objects—chairs, tables, consoles, bookshelves—are displayed as if by a culture unfamiliar with their use. A chair lies on its side, a bookshelf rests horizontal. In doing so, Martini invites the viewer to momentarily step outside the contemporary design system and observe its codes, rituals, and assumptions from a speculative distance.
Frio becomes both critique and contemplation. By stripping the objects of their expected function and context, the installation questions the relevance of contemporary design practices—inviting architects, designers, and critics to pause and reconsider not only how we create, but what we are truly doing today in the name of design.
Project supported by Mont Blanc | Herança Cultural | Guardian Glass | Vidrotec | Tecline | Voler | Michelangelo
Special thanks to Ronald Sasson and Giorgio Bonaguro
