19 June 2014

Rather than a chair or a series of chairs, Uncino is a manifesto of professional skills. In the first place those of the Bouroullec brothers, who have hit the mark with this project, showing once again that there is still something to be said on the most overworked type in furniture design, if you are guided by a profound grasp of materials and techniques. And then those of Mattiazzi, a company based in the district of the Udine region famous for its manufacture of chairs that has placed its own capacities at the disposal of great designers and made the leap from contractor to producer of its own brand-name furniture of quality. But above all, Uncino is a demonstration that there has always been complementarity rather than conflict between the worlds of handicrafts and industry in Italy. In fact, both numerically-controlled milling machines and craft and manual techniques are utilized to produce the wooden sculptural components that make up the seats and backs. Out of this comes an extremely versatile object: available with two different backs and in several kinds of wood, with a metal four-star or sledge base, to be used as a chair in the most disparate settings, from contract furniture to the home. Distinctive feature: the metal rod is inserted into the wood leaving a trace, a characteristic swelling, almost a crease that unites technical efficiency with expressiveness.