RILIEVI

Rilievi: note sulla collezione | Rilievi: notes on the collection

The Rilievi ceramics collection

The Rilievi collection by Zaven is the outcome of an elaborate design process

starting from meticulous, highly successful work to combine two basic elements:

a large ceramic slab and a three-dimensional “relief tile” placed on top of it. These

two “ingredients” can be combined in different ways depending on their numerical

multiplication, the layout of the slabs, the shapes built up by placing the relief tiles

one after the other, and the combinations and juxtapositions amongst each item

in the collection. The number of compositions these associations can generate is

exponentially increased by the rich assortment of colours offered for the slabs

- six shades - and the three different three-dimensional relief tile models - available

in seven colours.

The large number of possible combinations of the basic elements is one of

the key characteristics of this collection, which thus becomes a “system” of rare

expressive potential, absolutely original and truly unique on the contemporary

ceramic covering scene.

Rilievi is a work of design balanced between different historic periods: while the

volumetric relief tile modules are inspired by artistic experiments conducted in Italy

during the Sixties and Seventies - such as the modular ceramic bas-reliefs by Nino

Caruso or the plastic curves of Agostino Bonalumi’s canvases - the large slabs are the

outcome of research into materials and technology that has only come to fruition in

very recent times.

In this ceramic collection, the successful merging of skilled craftsmanship and

industrial expertise, so important and central to the history of Italian manufacturing,

finds a forceful new means of expression. By focusing on the scale factors, modular

repetition and combination potential of the individual pieces, Zaven offer us a new

work that establishes a new framework of reference, renewing the relationship

between flat and relief geometrical forms and postulating a completely fresh idea of

ceramic volume.

The shadow effects generated on the surfaces of the slabs by the light striking

the projecting parts of the modules create an unusual impression of architectural

depth found virtually nowhere else in ceramic coverings, laying the bases for a new

decoration interior design language.

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