There are 31 designers involved to create a personal interpretation that restores the emotion of a tactile and perceptive experience to the flatness of the slab: lettering, optical graphics and organic storytelling become an eclectic and multifaceted collection made up of 31 different works that come to life on copper and brass. For eight years De Castelli has undertaken an investigation into the expressive potential of eroded metals, experimenting with manufacturing processes for unexpected results: the oxidizing baths release the magic of the material, bringing out three-dimensional effects that convey the charm of uniqueness. Ornamentum research starts from afar, from the indirect engraving technique of etching and from the works of the Swiss goldsmiths of the sixteenth century, and is applied through dialogue with the specific and advanced know-how of the company. The material is not engraved mechanically but through metal etching: it is erosion that transforms the metal – just one millimeter thick – into a work of art, revealing all its poetry.

LOCATION Milan, De Castelli Showroom
YEAR 2024
PHOTO Alberto Parise