“The formal aspect of Éternel is influenced by a memory of Japan. Its luminosity and ethereal transparencies alter perception, while the material sutures attempt the impossible: the healing of time. Removed from life, under the influence of a preservation impulse, each object becomes immortal.”
Vincenzo De Cotiis
Coffee Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, brass
The DC1901 coffee table radiates with an iridescent patina, inspired by the metallic glazes of Japanese raku pottery. Vincenzo de Cotiis updates the ancient raku tradition through a complex casting process, endeavouring to capture the vibrant pink of Japanese cherry blossom in the colours rippling across the aluminium’s surface. Raku pots tend to be unique as they are hand-thrown and the glazing process is unpredictable – this level of artisanal craft resonates with De Cotiis.
Coffee Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, iridescent murano glass, brass, silvered glass
Just like the aluminium, the Murano glass elements of Éternel are defined by their specially cast iridescence. Their ever-shifting surfaces allow the artist to explore the relationship between light and substance in unprecedented ways. Murano glass represents water in Vincenzo de Cotiis’ oeuvre, and its seamless join to the solid metal emphasises its fluidity. In Éternel, the glass is shaped into roundels symbolic of the still pools of Japanese garden ponds.
Side Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, iridescent murano glass
Éternel is primarily an emotional dialogue between the artist and Japan, but Italian artist Vincenzo de Cotiis also draws on his own country’s heritage in the series. Referencing the Arte Povera movement, the composition of DC1903 blends natural and industrial material, mixing aluminium, glass and resin. The artist transforms them into one organic form, liberating the materials from their traditional connotations.
Stool | Iridescent cast aluminium, brass
The DC1905 stools of Éternel look identical, but are not. Vincenzo de Cotiis is uninterested in repetition, and seeks out the imperfections that are born from hand-processed design. The artist often works with materials defined by their relationship with light, such as highly reflective bronze, glass and brass, however the iridescent patina of the aluminium in Éternel transcends them all.
Bench | Iridescent cast aluminium
The aluminium surface of the DC1906 bench shifts in line with a viewer’s perspective. Its combination of sand-cast texture and iridescent patina creates a fragmented illusion. The work becomes a 3D example of the painterly sfumato technique, as texture, colour and form are blurred together. Light, captured in colour, is moulded around its organic form, creating a skin around the bench.
Dining Table | Iridescent cast aluminium
The DC1907 dining table consists of a similar composition to its sister work, the DC1903 side table, with its wings of ancient Murano glass seamlessly joined to the modern, recycled fibreglass. Each component is fixed in time, revaluating the work’s supposed time of ‘creation’. Motivated by a survival instinct, Vincenzo de Cotiis acts to preserve his works, striving for their immortality.
Dining Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, brass, silvered brass
The DC1908 dining table exhibits the purest example of the iridescent patina that defines the Éternel series. Unlike the textured surfaces seen in other works, this table top’s surface is uniform, resulting in light rippling unhindered across its smooth, mirror-like surface. The table top becomes a complete abstraction of colour, and is presented as seemingly weightless, grounded by the solid legs inspired by the gradient of Japanese temple roofs.
Chandelier | Brass, blown murano glass, silver leaves
The DC1909A chandelier takes its visual cues from chochin lanterns, which illuminate homes and festivals all over Japan. The paper and bamboo frames of chochin lanterns are here replaced by iridescent Murano glass and brass metal, continuing De Cotiis’ exploration into the relationship between material and light. Every glass globe is different in shape and size due to the fluid nature of the blowing process.
Dining Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, brass, silvered brass
The Murano glass seen in the DC1909B chandelier is one of artist Vincenzo de Cotiis’ favourite materials, and represents water and fluidity in his work in contrast to the solid metals and fibreglass. The iridescent element is added while the glass is still hot, only made possible by the artist’s symbiotic work with the Venetian glass artisans. The final pieces act as crystals: simultaneously organic, timeless, solid, soulful, and luminous.
Cabinet | Iridescent cast aluminium, silvered brass, recycled fiberglass with colored stucco
The fibreglass bodies of DC1912A and DC1912B are rendered with a coloured patina, which Vincenzo de Cotiis works onto their surfaces like a painter on a canvas. Their dark exteriors are contrasted with the silvered brass that lines each compartment, making use of the artistic chiaroscuro technique to create a luminous narrative throughout the work. The A and B cabinets can be combined to form a single larger piece.
Cabinet | Iridescent cast aluminium, recycled fiberglass patinated with colored stucco
Fibreglass has formed the core of Vincenzo de Cotiis’ oeuvre, as he draws a unique versatility out of the recycled material, thanks to its propensity for thermoforming. Giving a second life to the material adheres to the Japanese principle of mottainai, a Buddhist cultural tradition of recycling based on a meaningful connection between an item and its owner, a value which De Cotiis shares.
Cabinet | Iridescent cast aluminium, cast brass, silver plated brass, brass
Japan has long been a source of inspiration to the West. The Japonisme wave that swept Europe in the late 19th century had a profound effect on artists who learnt from its technical innovation and vibrant focus on nature. Vincenzo de Cotiis draws from this wealth of Japanese tradition to update his own visual language, creating the Éternel series that is currently, in his own words, “the work that most represents me as an artist.”
Coffee Table | Iridescent cast aluminium, brazilian granit, cast brass, brass
DC1914 is formed of aluminium and granite layers, a composition inspired by meticulously arranged Japanese gardens. The granite is very rare, specially sourced from Brazil, its black stone dramatically filled with natural iron and amethyst. Granite is a material with inherent history, formed over thousands of years, and its embodiment of time is what drew De Cotiis to working with it. The stone is left raw and uncut as its natural patina resembles bamboo leaves, a further reference to Japan.
Desk | Iridescent cast aluminium, recycled fiberglass patinated with colored stucco
DC1915 is a writing desk made from iridescent cast aluminium and recycled fibreglass with a coloured patina. The patina gives the fibreglass an inky, calligraphic finish, such as in traditional Japanese art and scroll illustration. It has an elegant, symmetrical form, and its legs mirror those of DC1908 and DC1903, inspired by the slanting roofs seen in Japanese architecture.
Side Table | Cast brass, recycled fiberglass, iridescent murano glass
For Éternel, Vincenzo de Cotiis developed a new means of thermoforming fibreglass and resin, shaping them under vacuum conditions. Like the DC1907 dining table, the coloured stucco that the artist uses to patinate the fibreglass table top of DC1916, imbues it with a subtle iridescence.
Lounge Chair | Iridescent cast aluminium, cast brass, brass
DC1919 is a chair made from iridescent cast aluminium and cast brass. The balanced design focusses equally on the two metals that form the core of the Éternel series, and both show their textured patina from their sand casting process. The brass will oxidise and irregularities will form, but this is in line with De Cotiis’ intentions – he wants the work to live and develop in response to its environment.
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