Folks typically discuss having second and even third winds today; profession shifts that reply to the ever-changing calls for of an more and more risky economic system and job market. Turin-born entrepreneur, financier, and artist Enrico Marone Cinzano has had many and is the wiser for it. From time spent in promoting, banking, and actual property, he went on to assist set up pioneering eco-friendly trend label Undertaking Alabama and, extra not too long ago, the sluggish however assured cultivation of an artwork furnishings apply rooted in his timeless dedication to sustainability, however extra importantly his understanding of nature’s inherent reality, magnificence, and logic.
Enrico Marone Cinzano presents ‘Obsessed by Nature’
‘The inspiration for the “Basculante” chair got here from contrasting sources, one the female, impressed by the consolation of nursing chairs, that are so soothing and comfy, and one the masculine, impressed by the aggressiveness and luxury of a recovered Ferrari leather-based chair. The precise piece is mounted on a construction fabricated from glass with metallic transferring elements. Once more, contrasting ends of the spectrum. As in nature, opposites not solely appeal to, however complement one another, and the engineering, as a lot because it seems to be easy, was really a feat led to by a real evolution of trials and errors’ – Enrico Marone Cinzano
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
On view at New York collectible design gallery Friedman Benda, from 14 November to 14 December 2024, his first solo present – entitled ‘Obsessed by Nature’ – will debut 11 distinct works: cohesively collaged-together luminaires, chairs, and tables that cohere the innate performance of types present in nature, with repurposed industrial parts. This cumulative however in no way conclusive capsule assortment may be very a lot the sum of its elements; the results of the self-taught designer’s atypical profession path and agile talent set. Forward of the exhibition, which is ready to be immersive and have multisensorial parts, such because the diffusion of a bespoke scent, Marone Cinzano spoke to Wallpaper* about his background, design philosophy, and what this primary retrospective incorporates.
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
An in depth-up have a look at the ‘Dondolo’ chair
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
Wallpaper*: How did you develop an appreciation for sustainability?
Enrico Marone Cinzano: I obtained concerned in an artwork venture 20 years in the past by which we turned previous jerseys into T-shirts. The plan was to provide 200 however many extra orders got here in and so it turned an organization that lasted seven years. I actually obtained into sustainability as a result of we have been utilizing recycled materials and pure dyes. Once you delve deep, it opens up a portal and it’s laborious to shake. Regardless that my companions and I had folded Undertaking Alabama, I stored the resourceful mindset we had fostered and have become fairly self-sufficient; creating my very own garments and even a couple of furnishings items out of pure and discarded parts I discovered round me.
The Marmo desk comprised of hand carved Carrara marble
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
W*: Speak extra about the way you transitioned in making furnishings.
EMC: I began exhibiting the work to folks I knew and ultimately began collaborating with a gallery in China that stipulated that I produce the whole lot there. On the time, sustainability wasn’t a giant factor in China but. It was a studying course of and I made errors alongside the best way.
With time, I discovered about Friedman Benda and the way the gallery’s co-founder and principal Marc Benda actually nurtured his artists relatively than solely worrying with the industrial aspect of issues. I reached out to him and he gave me good recommendation and instructed me to come back again with extra concepts. We’ve labored collectively carefully for the previous six years and I’ve proven work a couple of occasions as a part of group shows at gala’s like Design Miami. Throughout that point, I delved even additional into sustainability and the way it began to emerge as a subject even within the funding sector. I expanded my appreciation and understanding and got here to the realisation: we dwell in such a chaotic world however nature appears to have all of the solutions.
The ‘Piego’ chair in pink Jasper and painted metal
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
W*: You’ve beforehand talked about that you simply’re fascinated by the pure logic of the golden ratio. What are another overarching qualities from nature that you’re most drawn to?
EMC: I went by means of fairly a tumultuous youth, pushing the metallic to the pedal, and obtained to a degree the place it wasn’t working anymore. Going to India to coach as an authorized yoga teacher led me to Buddhism and different teachings however what I finally uncovered is that there’s order in nature. It’s scientific, whether or not it is physics or chemistry or biology, it is mathematical, it is moral. Every thing we’re searching for is correct in entrance of us. This goes for aesthetics and performance too. There are already shapes in nature that may serve a goal, at the same time as parts of furnishings.
The ‘Verde’ mild is crafted from reclaimed wooden, recovered automotive headlights and completed in polished metal and turquoise stone
(Picture credit score: Courtesy of Friedman Benda and Enrico Marone Cinzano)
W*: What are a few of the key highlights of the exhibition?
EMC: ‘Obsessive about Nature’ shall be my first solo present and it actually embodies the total scope of what I’ve been creating for nearly a decade. I pay shut consideration to the supplies I exploit and the craft processes concerned of their transformation. For a number of of the items – such because the ‘Piego’ chairs or the ‘Marmo’ desk – I labored with stone off-cuts that already had the proper types. I interjected the roughness of the marble or agate inside the compositions and juxtaposed these supplies with extraordinarily extremely polished surfaces. With items just like the standing ‘Verde’ lamp, there may be this distinction between the roughness of nature – the reclaimed wooden – and know-how – recovered automotive lights.
friedmanbenda.com
enricomaronecinzano.com
Supply: Wallpaper
