Whether we call them art or design (or Paul Kasmin’s compromise, “functional sculptures“), Mattia Bonetti’s works are consistently surprise. A hallmark of his high-gloss pieces, typically crafted from glass and various shiny metals, is the use of unexpected organic lines to offset their geometric foundations — take his 2009 aptly-named coffee table Meander as an example. The circular acrylic surface sits on tubes of patinated bronze cast into three-dimensional, wandering squiggles.
Mattia Bonetti Rocky side table, 2013; bronze and gold-plated bronze; courtesy of the artist and Paul Kasmin Gallery
Furthering Bonetti’s characteristic duality is “Indoor/Outdoor,” a new show to open at Paul Kasmin next week. Here in his first outdoor collection, he cites cultural influences from the ancient world (see the use of marbled travertine in the Pompei sofa or the general emphasis on bronze) and imperial India (as seen in the pairing of plush red upholstery with a wood-colored framework in the Pliniana armchair). As the show’s name suggests, the works go as well in the living room as they do on the patio. Keeping in step with the recurring theme of never making up one’s mind, it’s only got one foot out the door.
“Indoor/Outdoor” is on view at Paul Kasmin from April 10 through May 4.
— Janelle Zara