Maugoust Chenais

Prima Materia, an outstanding material, two unique pieces

The origin of this unique seating (and side-tables) pair lies in a monumental block of Iranian onyx. Raw, primary, and unprocessed, it was dormant in a Verona workshop for almost half a century.

“This fascinatingly strange fragment had a stone bark on one side. Without any geological information on the origin of this singularity, we had to look. The compactness of the rock stood out with the apparent fragility of its skin.”

Guided by the imperative need not to alter this mineral flower, they had to find their way of connecting with the stone. Adjust their breath to their line. To draw while keeping intact the trace of metamorphic temporality that the stone offered them. “Preserving this balance was indeed the foundation of our inspiration so that the figure could be born, the form could emerge.”

They chose to imbricate a very pure travertine Osso, revealing, by contrast, all the power of the onyx and showing much more than an assemblage, a true alliance.

When naming the piece, Prima Materia was the obvious choice with its alchemical polysemy.