Intermediaries #6 • 2026
Reticella Coffee Cup
Cup dimensions: 6 x 6 x 5 cm
Saucer diameter: 14 cm
Goatskin parchment, tinted goatskin parchment, curly maple, 24 carat gold leaf, 14k rolled gold nails
Exhibition
2026 - Homo Faber Craft Biennale - Venice - Italy
The Intermediaries sculpture series was born from research around the "terpnopoietic" ornament (which provides pleasure). This reflection is based on the work of art historian Oleg Grabar and more particularly on his theory of ornament as an intermediary between the viewer and the work of art. He explains that "ornament is defined by the feeling of pleasure that one feels when looking at it. It is no longer a thing, but an emotion, a passion, an idea, which affects everything that is created by artists and craftsmen. It is a property of the work of art that transforms the viewer."
Stemming from a variety of objects, a cup, a saucer and sugar cubes, I explore, through the use of ornamentation, this transformation of the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the object to the work of art. The ornamental, taken to its paroxysm, frees its emotional potential and questions the onlooker with regard to his relation to the object.
This cup and saucer were entirely handcrafted from sculpted, layered sheets of goatskin parchment and curly maple wood. The ornamentation adorning the set draws inspiration from "reticella" lace patterns, which were in vogue in Venice during the early 17th century.
