GalleryDe Castelli Metal Projects Gallery Seoul is located in the Pomona & Co. building in Banpo-dong, Gangnam District. The building is built exclusively in iron and glass with attention to the themes of nature and sustainability. Inside, De Castelli products are intertwined with pieces of art that explore natural materials such as metal, clay and wood, demonstrating a surprising example of spatial artification.
De Castelli shares with Pomona & Co., a company that manages a combination of exclusive showrooms of high-end brands and art galleries, the same passion for innovation and the valorization of materials to create new and original forms for architecture, art and design.
The bar, a much-loved place and symbol of sociability, enters the house, bringing with it emotions that epitomise the Italian lifestyle. Barista is a compact mobile bar with a sculptural volume, characterised by a ribbed effect comprising brushed metal rods of differing diameters which create an irregular texture and give life to a soft play of light. The upper surface is slightly lower than the perimeter, thus making it useful for resting and serving drinks.
The mobile bar opens like a book: the perfect 180° opening action is made possible by the design solution which incorporates a “V” shape, thus enabling the two symmetrical halves to align perfectly. The opening action is helped by two small wheels housed within the base. The interior is made entirely of stainless steel with a special mirrored finishing, which multiplies the kaleidoscope of colours of the beverages and the reflections from the glass bottles and glasses, engendering an elegant atmosphere reminiscent of a club or café. Barista is equipped to hold bottles and glasses of different shapes and sizes.
Balanced on slender legs, the legendary cyclops invades domestic spaces to reinvent home cabinetry. Its large eye becomes a handle and the robust body contrasts with the lightness of the legs in eccentric visual imbalance. Polifemo is a scenic container sure to get noticed: the solid wood structure is richly covered in a copper or brass dress featuring ornamental incisions, rhythmically marking its surface.
The graphic language that Leonardo Sonnoli hernesses to express De Castelli’s know-how gives life to a game of inlaid surfaces where the precise inclination of the ornamental tiles alludes to an aesthetic code made of enigmatic symbolism. Yoko is a system of DeLabré stainless steel modules, with brass or brushed copper inserts, which welcomes randomness as a method for creating always unique and original compositions. The result is a highly elegant covering that draws inspiration from modern and contemporary art and combines graphic design and craftsmanship.
Essential signs, like the undulating curves drawn by a calligraphy pen, or the clean, sinuous lines of a marker, are a metaphor for the malleability of metals: when the hand that forges them knows all their secrets, the cold elegance of metal is thereby softened, giving it character, colour and feminine appeal. In Scribble, these symbols and characters chase each other almost as if dancing, manifesting as side tables and surfaces ready to invent a new domestic alphabet and write new stories of conviviality.
