Here is the official one-minute video summarising the crucial moments of our
event “From earth to the Earth” which took place at the Fuorisalone 2009:
the concept, Refin and DesignTaleStudio ceramic tiles, Michele De Lucchi and
his temporary architecture made of ceramic, the guests and visitors, the
Triennale exhibition. What do you think?

On Refin’s website, we have just published a celebrative page for the event with a complete photo- gallery and videos (which you will also find on our DesignTaleStudio Youtube channel).

We have published some photos of our set design for “From earth to the Earth” – held during the Fuorisalone trade-fair at the Triennale in Milan on Flickr. Here are just a couple of the photos: an exterior shot and a detailed shot of the area dedicated to DesignTaleStudio ceramics, exclusively created by Michele De Lucchi with one of his renowned “imaginary architectures”, which was also made from ceramic.

The Fourisalone has closed and we will now start publishing some videos filmed during our event “From earth to the Earth” at the Triennale in Milan.

This is the recording of the introductory speech by architect Michele De Lucchi, the creator of our design set, during the press preview on Tuesday, April 21. Just a few words but extremely striking and sometimes even surprising, in fact, we all already knew about his love for wood, which he manifested in his work “casette a forma di casa“ (little houses in the shape of houses) but his recent rediscovery of ceramic and natural a href=”http://www.architetturadipietra.it/wp/?p=2436″>stones in general allows us to witness important creative opportunities.

Here is the text Michele De Lucchi wrote for the “Dalla terra alla Terra” (“From earth to the Earth”) installation, that will be held at the Milan Triennale during Fuorisalone 2009.

Ceramic is a marvellous material, not only as it is functional, cosy, solid, long-lasting, resistant, natural and eco-friendly, but also because it is earth. The earth is all we have and it is, both physically and metaphorically, our most precious material. Ceramic can create surfaces featuring any colour or finish and it allows for countless combinations of decors, natural imitations and creative geometries.

Too often though, we associate ceramic tiles exclusively with wall and floor coverings and too often we forget the majesty of this material, using it only to keep, unaltered over time, the welcoming feeling of a tile covered wall or flooring. But, a ceramic tile is earth, therefore it is an excellent building material, the best, the most versatile building material of all and thanks to this evocative quality, our tall and slender buildings came to life, as do our thoughts which fly high in the sky.

Thus, this rigid ceramic tile becomes a new material, rich in suggestions and hints, which take us by the hand into a new era, where ceramic cladding is not simply a mere covering skin but a marvellous material which, sprung from earth, brings all of us, contemporary man, back to the Earth.

Exactly a week to go before the opening of the Fuorisalone exhibition, or more specifically, before the press preview where we will reveal the set design for “From earth to the Earth”, in the courtyard opposite the Triennale, created by Michele de Lucchi exclusively for Ceramiche Refin. During this preview, scheduled to start at 10.30, architect de Lucchi in person will explain his work and the key-concept driving his creativity, that is to say, the intimate and enduring tie between nature and ceramics.

During the Fourisalone exhibition there will be plenty of time set aside on this theme within our set design. On Refin’s web-site, you can see the landing page showing the detailed schedule of events and the registration form, while, in the next day or two our blog will provide further details and teasers of the event.

The Fuorisalone 2009 is approaching and once again this year the event, taking place between April 22 to 27, will see Milan as the world capital of design. Refin Ceramiche and DesignTaleStudio will be present in the courtyard opposite the Triennale, with a set-design centred around the innovative use of ceramic.

This year, our set-design will be created by Michele De Lucchi: a renowned in the world of design, he needs no introduction, he has joined us again, after a gap of 2 years, with a project entitled “From earth to the Earth”. For now, we will not reveal any more details of the project but we promise to reveal all with new in-depth and tasters of the event.

One of main attractions of last year’s Fuorisalone surely was “Kasa Digitalia”, the setting designed by Karim Rahid (a favourite of DTS) for Abet Laminati at the Triennale. An explosion of unusual shapes and colours, in keeping with the style of the Egypitian-American designer, who, without a doubt, is one of the most major trend-setters in modern-day aesthetics in the world. We have taken a look at some of the photos taken during our visit, and have the following thoughts.

This work was designed to have a completely laminated surface, traditionally a more economical solution to a lacquered or ceramic finish, but that thanks to its characteristics of light and un-broken surfaces, can result in very aesthetically pleasing and out of the ordinary finishes. Even for those artists who do work with other materials, the challenge set down by Rashid does not pass un-noticed: in fact, often we are part of “irreverent games” which have the aesthetic finish of a ceramic tile, such as joints and reflections.

One innovative point to remember, therefore, which is, at the same time, urging us to understand the real “quid” of ceramics, that is to say, its elevated and, in certain aspects, its unparalleled complex touch and shine.

Krizia was the guest on the last day of Trascreativity at the Triennale in Milan. The fashion designer told us about the different aspects influencing her style, relating some anecdotes about her career and not holding anything back when she was asked to express her idea on hot design topics.

In this video, Krizia comments on her ceramic prototype created for DesignTaleStudio: a composition of six 60×120 cm ceramic slabs depicting a huge panther and a leopard.

During his appearance at Design On Stage Trascreativity, Alessandro Mendini dedicated much of his discussion to the creativity and innovation of languages. In particular, in this section of the speech, he is talking about transgression, the “fil rouge” of the Trascreativity event, noticing that, to be interesting, a project must “create a nuisance” somehow.