A FUTURE FOR THE PAST
The project unfolds in two stages: this April, 17th -23rd, at 5VIE, Milan and then next spring 2024 in Tinos, Greece.
Started in 2009 in Athens and London, the atelier was founded with a focus on metamorphosis and a desire to move from object to space consciousness.
A Future For The Past is their latest adventure. It aims to raise awareness about marble craftsmanship born in the island of Tinos, Greece and the way this converses with contemporary collectible design & current social changes. The narrative picks up on social sustainability matters and wants to disseminate the very local tinian marble craftsmanship, also inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Heritage, to the wider design scene. Ultimately, it looks to secure a future for both craftsmanship and collectible design.
The upcoming exhibition at 5VIE, stands as a little homage to the rich Tinian legacy manifested in Milan’s historic center. With the title ‘Design for Good’, and with a focus on sustainability rooted in mutual care, 5VIE emphasizes that the strength of design lies in the poetic connection between the aesthetic dimension – in what is beautiful – with that of ethics – in what is good.
on.entropy confronts this theme with an installation based on notions of belonging, identity and social cohesion. Specifically, their installation highlights the role of marble craftsmanship and the folk traditions around it, in strengthening the collective memory and subsequently the cultural heritage of Tinos in a contemporary and sustainable way.
The installation by on.entropy & the team of tinian sculptors Fortomas, Skalkotos & Mavromaras, consists of a temple-like space plus a cabinet de curiosité.
“We would like to recreate the essence of a temple in the space of Via Cesare Correnti, as this typology of building has historically maintained some of the most interesting collectible design objects. One of these, is in fact the table, the history of which has evolved within the space of the temple itself: it first appeared in holy places with 1 leg as a surface for offerings, and later it evolved into a 4-legged piece of furniture – (from Greek language, tetra, etymology: τρά-πεζα[ᾰ], -ης, ἡ pos. instead of tetra-pous, meaning tetra-four + pous- feet).
The center point of the installation is thus a sculptural table, a round one, made of white marble sitting on three legs, as the minimum possible footprint on the ground.
The cabinet de curiosité features two large walls serving as screens to hidden shelves. Through small holes in these 2 walls, the visitors will be able to look into a curated collection of memorabilia, items, photos and video that narrate the story of the aesthetic evolution of craftsmanship and its reflection of societal changes over the years. A sculptor from the island said: “once you could hear children playing with the mantraka, at the street of Pyrgos you could hear water running and the bells, the doors of the houses were open to everyone and marble workshops round the corner open to everybody” nowadays Pyrgos is filled with tourists’ shops and there is little evidence of marble activity”.
This raises questions on what physical space we inhabit, but also questions on how we comprehend the world, now that the tangible aspects of making things has started diminishing. This aspect is particularly relevant today, as it highlights the value of marble sculpting in sustaining kinaesthetic knowledge. How do hand-related skills like sculpting engage the right and left part of the brain? Is it just a cognitive activity? And how do these skills contribute to human development in this rapid-changing, information-loaded era?
With A Future for the Past, on•entropy intends to merge local tradition with global appeal, reflecting imminent societal changes. Creating a tale of beauty and transformation over the centuries, they hope to secure a future for both craftsmanship and collectible design.
17 to 23 April h 10.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.
19 April extended hours h 10.30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Via Cesare Correnti 14, Milan
About
Maria Cristina Didero is a Milan based independent curator and author, working internationally.
After working for many years with Vitra Design Museum, she enrolled in her independent curatorial career presenting projects such as The System of Objects (with Andreas Angelidakis) at Deste Foundation, in Athens; Nendo: The Space in Between and The Conversation Show at the Holon Design Museum, in Tel Aviv; FUN HOUSE by Snarkitecture at National Building Museum, in Washington D.C.; SuperDesign a project about Italian radical design in New York; Simple, by Philippe Malouin, Vegan Design – or the Art of Reduction by Erez Nevi and The Fish and The Crowd by Carlo Massoud.
She has collaborated with magazines such as Domus, Vogue Italia, Flash Art, Apartamento, and Harper’s Bazaar, among others. From 2018 until 2020 Didero was editor-at-large of ICON Design, and she is currently covering the role of Milan Editor of Wallpaper* magazine. She has contributed to many publications and consulted for companies such as Vitra, Fritz Hansen, Lexus, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Valextra among others. Based in Milan, Maria Cristina works internationally, curating exhibitions for institutions and fairs.
In January 2022 she was appointed Design Miami/ Curatorial Director, curating the Basel and Miami Beach fairs under the overarching theme The Golden Age. In the same year she also presented at Triennale in Milan The Inventory of Life by Mathieu Lehanneur and Ask Me if I Believe in the Future at the Museum of Applied Arts, in Hamburg.
MC, as everyone calls her, has worked with different medias, both with young and established designers, with the belief that design is about people and not about chairs, narrating the vicissitudes of human beings via objects, through her numerous projects.
on•entropy is a marble studio established in 2009 in Athens and London with a focus on metamorphosis. Expanding from object to space consciousness. Marble, an archetypal Greek material, takes on an unconventional role in on•entropy’s designs; they encapsulate the contradiction of being heavy and compact and at the same time vulnerable, fragile, and translucent. Its diverse character is the core of the studio’s founding mission: to experiment with marble and its entropy; its potential for metamorphosis, embracing its inherent limitations. The result is the craftsmanship of intricate and delicate sculptures, evolving its diachronic qualities in an imaginative & contemporary way. Created and run by sisters Niki (NZ) and Zoe Moskofoglou (ZM), on•entropy is the fruit of a 40-year long, family affair with marble in Greece. NM is an architect with an academic training in Design. Her work demonstrates an architectural detailing and instinct of how Space and Object can surpass mere function. ZM is a civil engineer with expertise in Sustainable Heritage. She cultivates her passion in the marriage of cultural and natural environment through academic research in Cultural Landscapes. NZM founded their design studio to reflect both art and craft. Pushing the boundaries of marble, their work begins with the human experience and an interaction with the senses; it demands contemplation.
NB: Unesco, in 2015. “The art of marble-carving is an expression of the cultural identity of Tinos. Marble craftspeople possess empirical knowledge of the composition and structure of marble-bearing rock, the properties of each kind of marble, and the manipulation of its veins. From the quarry to the final finish. Tinian marble craftsmanship involves social and economic paramenters, including the workshops, the equipment, the educational system, the buyers and the items produced.’’
A project by on•entropy
Curated by Maria Cristina Didero
Produced by 5 Vie for Milano Design Week 2023
Opening the 17th of April Press conference the 2nd of March 17.30
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