Matrice | Trama 2 F2

In the Matrice collection, Brondi and Rainò investigate the different effects which can be achieved with the surfaces of ceramic materials, exploring their perceptive qualities and tactile variations, to build up a collection which takes concrete as its main inspiration and as a subject to be interpreted in accordance with original physical and aesthetic codes.

The project, which comprises a wide range of pieces offering great versatility in their possible mutual combinations, provides the basis for a rich spectrum of compositional solutions.

In Matrice, figurative representation and abstraction merge to originate a product that sets out to redefine the expressive code of concrete, never merely imitated but interpreted with a critical eye.

Featuring different surface effects, finishes and modular sizes, the Matrice collection is the starting point for constructing a ceramic alphabet with spacial coordinates suitable for various types of use- laid on floors or walls, outdoors or indoors- with an additional post-production process that creates a network of linear incisions which can be filled by hand with brightly coloured grouts to generate an infinite variety of geometric patterns: multiplied across the surface, these webs effectively mask the joints between the individual ceramic pieces, so that the right-angled laying grid is no longer visible.

The solid austerity of concrete, symbolically associated with an uncompromisingly modern architectural style, is contrasted with the warm connotations of graphic motifs taken from the Italian embroidery and textile traditions: the effect achieved by combining a hard, uniform material (concrete) with "pretty" decoration (the patterned incisions) produces unusual, highly expressive results.

The design work, also inspired by typical characteristics of modernist architecture and the distinctive harmony of the bare concrete features of some projects of this type, has provided the stimulus for reinventing some ceramic finishes, allowing the creation of original, constantly fresh combinations for the design of living spaces of strong intensity and immense personality.