Compressioni, Centerpiece

With his Compressioni project, Paolo Ulian has conceived a new way of forming sheet metal, a method that reveals uncanny expressivity. Composed of a basket, a centrepiece and an 'unprecedented object', his triad of objects is a powerful encapsulation of the experiments he entertained with a master turner at his side. The three containers are first made on a lathe, then compressed to obtain the final shape. Trial after trial, it became clear that the deformations caused by crushing the semifinished articles were relatively controllable variables. The folds created on the bottom of the objects were almost magically arranged in geometric patterns - squares, pentagons, hexagons and octagons - giving fascinating regularity to the elements' unique differences.