Witness the revival of artisan decoration at Decorex 2018

Last week saw our announcement that Pigmentti will participate at Decorex 2018, Europe’s leading interior design event, from 16-19th September at Syon Park, as part of this year’s London Design Festival. With less than a week to go until the show, we’ve spent the past few weeks carefully crafting Marmorino panels ready for use on our stand.

We’ll be making an exclusive appearance together for the very first time in the UK, as part of the renowned In The Making feature areas, four invitation-only spaces where skilled artisans and craftspeople demonstrate how products are made, finished, and decorated and talk through specific materials and design processes.

Myself (Noel Donnellan) and fellow skilled craftsman and Pigmentti partner, Paolo Bello, will be creating a uniquely designed display piece demonstrating bas-relief Marmorino and gold leaf, giving visitors a rare opportunity to witness these highly skilled techniques first-hand.

With over 50 years’ experience, our mission at Pigmentti is to bring classic techniques into contemporary design, and consolidate Marmorino’s future in the artisan decoration revival.

Our goal is to use the ancient material of Marmorino in the current contemporary environment of architectural design, by pushing the bounds of its limitations.

What will be happening on the stand?

During the four-day event at Decorex, we’ll be demonstrating the technique of bas-relief Marmorino on a 3 meters wall live for visitors to see, in addition to a workbench demonstration of gold leaf gilding.

The stand will also feature a wall showcasing a completed bas-relief Gyps Scagliola design framed in gold leaf, so you can see the beautiful finish of these exquisite materials up close and personal.

Join us for our 4-day bas-relief Marmorino live demonstration

Bas-relief is a type of relief sculpture and is the term used to describe the application technique of the material Marmorino, a mixture of marble stone and slaked lime which can be tinted to give a wide range of colours.

The origins of Marmorino started with the Greeks more than 5,000 years ago and became widespread in ancient Rome. It was then revived in the Renaissance in particular by the Veneto architect Andrea Palladio, coming to its full glory in the Venetian Baroque, Neo-Classicism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods.

This versatile, yet rare, material can be applied to create many textures from polished to natural finishes and deep sculptural details and engravings using the Graffito (scratching) technique.

Its waterproofing and antibacterial qualities, paired with an ability to be painted on or tinted and used for exterior and interior, make this ancient product a most distinguished ally to Pigmentti’s portfolio of skills.

Live gold leaf demonstration on our workbench

We’ll be using our workbench to show a geometric design being gilded to high polish finish, demonstrating the potential for contemporary application of gold leaf.

This uniquely adaptable material can be presented in many different formats, matt, high polish and mirror finish, and we’ll be working on this design throughout the 4 days of Decorex.

Why not stop by the stand (F5), take a seat, and be inspired by the timeless beauty of these distinctive materials.

We look forward to meeting you there.