ARALDICA By CEDIT Ceramiche d'Italia
Indoor/outdoor porcelain stoneware wall/floor tiles
Porcelain stoneware
In the Araldica collection, multi-faceted creative spirit Federico Pepe expresses some of the themes fundamental to the character and quality of his work over time.
Conceived as the outcome of a process of artistic invention, the collection arises from a mélange of stimuli. On the vast scale of large ceramic wall covering slabs, Pepe’s visual textures acquire the hypnotic, fascinating configuration of a variegated mixture of colours, inspired by those of tradi-tional marbled papers. Used mainly in publishing or, more specifically, artistic bookbinding, these papers are produced using a very old decorative technique, in which a vast number of “clots” of colour emulate the infinite vein and dappling patterns of the surface of marble. On these extrovert, high-impact backgrounds, some of Pepe’s designs juxtapose two different graphic linear motifs, geometrically centred on the slab: a “coat-of-arms” – a crest rather like a composite shield, alluding to the imagery of heraldry – and an “hourglass” shape, consisting of two opposing isosceles triangles.
These geometric forms are repeated on the different marbled backgrounds in a pattern that recalls the exquisite techniques of marble inlay, generating an intriguing carousel of allusive visual percep-tions. As its creator intends, the resulting product has an extreme graphic impact, referencing the topic of a disordered sense of sight – including hallucination – to evolve a ceramic collection with absolute originality of expression.
The solutions provided to complete the range are in a different tone: reflecting the desire to “stage” a clear contrast with the multicolour ceramic wall coverings, these slabs are in completely neutral shades, in the grey frequencies of concrete. Monochrome, or with a subtle coloured motif that is a stylised version of the “coat of arms”, these materials offer an unexpected counterpoint to the richly decorated slabs, providing interior designers with a whole range of sounds (a metaphor that in-stinctively comes to mind) with different modulations.
In Araldica, Federico Pepe sends us a creative message that not only defines the aesthetics of a new “interior psychedelia” but also investigates unusual formulae for perceptive interaction be-tween decorated ceramics and the individual.
