Installation and sculptural furniture in white Carrara and Nero Marquina marble
Presented at FuoriSalone 2018, Milan
In RISE, Gustavo Martini constructs an immersive architectural fiction: a black box set in the middle of a white gallery space, its door revealing an unexpected interior—a stark, geometric cave composed entirely of white stairs. The stair, as architectural archetype, becomes the protagonist—symbolizing the human ambition to conquer space through verticality, construction, and order.
Within this white structure rest three essential marble objects—a chair, a bookshelf, and a bench—each designed to integrate seamlessly with the stair surfaces. Their bases have been cut to match the geometry of the steps, rendering them incomplete in isolation. Positioned outside the installation, on a pedestal, are the missing volumes—sculpted in Nero Marquina marble. These black components function both as independent sculptures and as literal completions of the objects, allowing them to be used traditionally should they leave the installation and enter a domestic or collectible context.
RISE is a reflection on structure, function, and fragmentation. Through pure forms and minimal materials, Martini transforms the language of furniture into an abstract spatial narrative—where each piece negotiates its identity between precision and poetic displacement.
Project supported by Marimar and Savoia Marmi
