Materialmente: artistic jewelry, sculpture-paintings and home decor objects made in Venice that delight eyes and soul
- Nicoletta Fornaro
- 11 giu
- Tempo di lettura: 5 min
Aggiornamento: 14 giu
As some of you already know, I go jogging very early in the morning when the city is still empty and everyday, on my way back, I stop in front of a small shop close to Piazza San Marco and dream looking at the most poetic jewelry and sculpture-paintings one could imagine.
The store is called Materialmente and it was opened in 2007 by Maddalena Venier and Alessandro Salvadori, designers, makers and incredibly gentle souls. I wanted to learn more about their work, so I visited their atelier on the island of Giudecca (open to the public). Here below our brief conversation:
1) Maddalena and Alessandro, can you tell us a little sth about yourselves?
M: I was born in Germany where my parents had emigrated for work, but moved back to Italy when I was around 4 years old. We lived in the mainland, between Mestre and Mogliano, but I have always been going back and forth from Venice. I studied as a goldsmith and jewelry-maker, and eventually enrolled in Painting at the Fine Art Academy. It didn’t take long to understand that painting was not my preferred media and way to express myself, thus I decided to study sculpture too. After completing my studies I worked as an illustrator and waxer, developing further my narrative and sculpting skills. I then helped my partner open and run his shop until, with Alessandro, I decide to have an artistic space of my own, or better said, where I could produce what I wanted.
A: I was born in Venice but grew up in the mainland, in the countryside, where I would spend many hours outdoors in nature. My mother used to work as a seamstress and my father was a carpenter, so I can say that I have been working with my hands all my life, although it has never really felt like a job, but rather something natural. I went to art school, but I consider myself a self-taught designer or artisan if you prefer, in the sense that my creative path followed my inner feelings and personal and professional experience. in 1998 I opened a shop in the Frari area, but didn’t want to sell the classic souvenirs one expects to find in Venice, I didn’t want to conform myself to what ‘was expected’, so I started creating my own objects and give shape to my imagery. The idea was to offer objects that would add joy to others as well as to myself, to make interiors more beautiful. Then with Maddalena, we decided to open our own atelier and…the rest is history.
2) How did the project Materialmente start?
M: As mentioned, we had been friends for a lifetime and decided to combine our skills and share a creative space. As for the name Materialmente, it was well thought, not something immediate. I like to play with words as I believe that it is through them that we start creating and evoking images, thus we opted to combine the words MATERIA (matter) and MENTE (mind). We also give a name to all of our creations, and I love it when clients arrive and don’t just ask for a pair of earrings or necklace, but they ask for ‘Altalena’ (swing) or ‘Mare Aperto'(open sea).
3) Whales, birds and fish are the most recurring animals in your work. Do they have a special meaning for you?
A: They are creatures that swim and fly. We could say that fish flies in the water, like birds fly in the air. They evoke lightness and freedom, they are delicate, elegant and dreamy. Whales are mammals, in a way I relate them to our human nature. Besides, they sing and despite their important size, they are sinuous and graceful.
M: Also the environment we live in plays a role too! Sparrows, little egrets and robins are our neighbors and keep us company throughout the day, as for fish… it is not difficult to spy them simply when walking along a canal.
4) Organic shapes, nature-inspired pieces of art. It almost seems that you aim at bringing nature into the domestic space.
M: Well, I suppose it comes natural to us, it is not planned. We are both great lovers of the outdoors and we go for long walks in the mountains and woods, besides the environment of the lagoon offers so much inspiration. I really enjoyed a book by Emanuele Coccia called ‘La vita delle piante. La metafisica della mescolanza’ (The life of plants. A metaphysics of mixture) and the part where he writes that when we breathe, we breathe the Everything. Nature enters our lungs, it’s in us. Living means being part of a Whole.
A: Yes, I agree. We simply translate into objects what surrounds us, what inspires us. The end result is never planned ahead, it’s just the way we see the world.
5) Venice. How does it influence your work?
A: Venice is like us humans, it’s part nature and part culture. A unique city that with its peculiarities cannot become as fast-paced as the rest of the world, and we appreciate this type of slowness, the flowing of the water and its silence as much as its international vocation and artistic personality. Art is everywhere and people are sensitive to beauty, Venice is definitely a blessing for our eyes and soul and I imagine this reflects into our work.
6) Iron, copper and brass. Your metals of choice. Why?
M & A: Because they are extremely malleable. Iron is perfect for constructing/building shapes, copper has an incredible color, which is never the same and changes depending on the temperature with which you work it, whereas brass has a marvelous light and luminosity. In addition to all this, they can be oxidized. We are like little alchemists in our workshop! We like to experiment and try new thins, and these metals are ideal for our approach.
7) Is there a project/piece you feel particularly connected to?
A: Maybe for me it’s Luna&Stelle (Moon&Stars), because I had made it in my first atelier/workshops, thus it brings me back to where I began.
M: TBH…no, not really. All of them, because I see them as if they were my children, creations we gave birth to but need to let go of, let them have their own path. My fulfillment comes from the experimentation process. Besides, I see all of these works as OURS, not mine or his. Alessandro and I completely trust one another and it is common for me to start a creation and then for him to finish it, or viceversa. An ongoing exchange that gives me a sense of freedom, the freedom that we want to convey through our work. Free objects that are born in Venice but maybe end up in New York or another part of the world, and communicate, interact with people we will never be able to meet. Isn’t it amazing?
8) Do you have a dream you would like to share with us?
M & A: Our dream is to continue doing what we do. We are so lucky to be able to get to do what we like everyday and live the life we live that we can say that our dream has already come true.
Wow… what incredible people I have just met and how grateful I am for their time.I cannot but invite you to visit their atelier in Venice and Giudecca when here, in the meanwhile you can start dreaming browsing through their website!
Materialmente
Address 1: Mercería San Salvador, San Marco 4850, 30125 Venezia
Address 2: (open by appointment) Calle del forno 465c, Giudecca - Venezia
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