Series 19 by Omer Arbel for Bocci

A table collection combining craft and mass production by a young Canadian firm.

As Omer Arbel, the Bocci art director, explains, Series 19 is an exploration of the sand-casting process but, while this method is normally adopted to produce perfectly seamless objects, in this case, the focus is on waste, on the surplus material that is thrown away after the process (for Series 19, recycled copper which oxidises immediately on contact with the sand). The waste has been reused to create a recognisable identity, an emotional response, and produce a collection of unique pieces.

"Instead of inventing forms", says Omer Arbel "I want to create a system; the system then gives rise to a form. We can't control the form of what we make. What we try to control is the creation process." The process itself produces the form. This is halfway between craft and industry because a table can be sand-cast in 45 minutes, but it takes three days to polish it. Each piece is marked with the quantity of copper used to make it. Elena Sommariva

Spazio Rossana Orlandi
Via Matteo Bandello 14
12–17.04.2011, 9.30 am–8 pm

Series 19 by Omer Arbel for Bocci

A table collection combining craft and mass production by a young Canadian firm.

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