I was first introduced to his furniture design at Design Miami a couple of years ago. I was familiar with the the work of Italian architect Vincenzo De Cotiis in interiors, where he has not only turned raw buildings into contemporary hotels and restaurants, but has also formulated a signature for utilizing reclaimed materials. Both in his interiors and furniture, De Cotiis has made his name for merging the decay and the minimal, the crafted and the found, the aged and the sleek, deconstruction and construction, the architectural and the decorative. The furniture I saw in Miami was crafted of found fiberglass panels along with blown glass exquisitely made into unique objects of fabulous scale and forms. Now, that he has opened a new solo show, ‘Baroquisme’ at Carpenters Workshop, De Cotiis is showcasing the evolution of his art and language, which is more settled, more mature, and the craft is more sophisticated in the line of Carpenters Workshop Gallery. The pieces in the show are strong in their materiality, combining silvered brass, marble, fiberglass, cast glass all beautifully infused into rich and shimmering surfaces. The language is particularly successful in the tables where large surfaces allow better play and layering with the materials. The furniture pieces are baroque in their dramatic fantasy, in their ability to transform interiors, in their dazzling forms, and after all, De Cotiis’ work always carries a strong Italian identity. The exhibition at Carpenters Workshop Gallery will close on June 23rd. Images courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery; photo Matt Harrington.
