Second phase of Resistance project at the Vitra Campus during Art Basel 2017
June 15 2017Resistance is now open until 2 July at the Vitra Design Museum as part of the ‘First Stone’ programme curated by Experimenta Design, taking place during Art Basel 2017.
The collection of works includes two pieces by AL_A:
Deconstructing the Cube, Basel 2017. A seemingly perfect cube almost 2m high is created by a series of undulating slabs of limestone stacked one on top of the other, with each layer rotated through 90 degrees. As you move around the cube it reveals its visual complexity, creating a dynamic kinetic effect. From the sides, it appears a solid monolithic mass; from the corners it starts to dematerialise and the ten individual strata are exposed and views right through the cube become possible
Also on display is Metamórfica. Following its exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2016 Metamórfica returns to public display alongside Deconstructing the Cube.
At a macro level, marble is a resistive, metamorphic stone, strong in compression. At a micro level, it is a complex structure composed of innumerable calcite crystals. When fully assembled, Metamórfica is a perfect cuboid. It is a simple, monolithic and stable form. Its surface is rough and unpolished, seemingly fresh from the quarry, but beneath this unrefined façade lies a beautiful and complex composition of nine marble fragments. The disassembly process reveals that the interior facets of these fragments are smooth and highly polished. This refined finish, coupled with the triangulation that facilitates the interlocking system, bridges the gap between stone and crystal. Each piece has the potential to be appropriated in different ways, with suitable dimensions for stools, coffee tables and benches.
In both projects, we explore the theme of resistance through materiality, the characteristics of marble and limestone, and play with notions of the solidity of stone.
The opening of Resistance was marked with a debate with Amanda, João Luís Carrilho da Garça, Mia Hägg, Vladimir Djurovic and moderated by Mateo Kries, director of the Vitra Design Museum.
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Images: Ricardo Goncalves