MATRICE

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

The Matrice ceramics collection

In the Matrice collection, Brondi and Rainò investigate the different effects which

can be achieved with the surfaces of ceramic materials, exploring their perceptive

qualities and tactile variations, to build up a collection which takes concrete as

its main inspiration and as a subject to be interpreted in accordance with original

physical and aesthetic codes.

The project, which comprises a wide range of pieces offering great versatility

in their possible mutual combinations, provides the basis for a rich spectrum of

compositional solutions.

In Matrice, figurative representation and abstraction merge to originate a

product that sets out to redefine the expressive code of concrete, never merely

imitated but interpreted with a critical eye.

Featuring different surface effects, finishes and modular sizes, the Matrice

collection is the starting point for constructing a ceramic alphabet with spacial

coordinates suitable for various types of use - laid on floors or walls, outdoors or

indoors - with an additional post-production process that creates a network of linear

incisions which can be filled by hand with brightly coloured grouts to generate an

infinite variety of geometric patterns: multiplied across the surface, these webs

effectively mask the joints between the individual ceramic pieces, so that the right-

angled laying grid is no longer visible.

The solid austerity of concrete, symbolically associated with an

uncompromisingly modern architectural style, is contrasted with the warm

connotations of graphic motifs taken from the Italian embroidery and textile

traditions: the effect achieved by combining a hard, uniform material (concrete)

with “pretty” decoration (the patterned incisions) produces unusual, highly

expressive results.

The design work, also inspired by typical characteristics of modernist

architecture and the distinctive harmony of the bare concrete features of some

projects of this type, has provided the stimulus for reinventing some ceramic finishes,

allowing the creation of original, constantly fresh combinations for the design of living

spaces of strong intensity and immense personality.

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