Design in a Real World marks the debut of VESTIGIA, a new initiative dedicated to connecting collectible design with contemporary art. Curated by designer Jonathan Bocca and hosted at the historic Villa Marie near Vorno, Tuscany, the exhibition presents a dynamic collection of works that reflect the territory’s artisanal legacy while encouraging experimentation across disciplines. Open to the public on June 8–9 and by appointment through September 28, the show sets a thoughtful tone for the project’s future direction.
EXHIBITIONS
Bocca brings together a wide-ranging group of designers and studios whose practices remain rooted in process rather than product. The works, installed across Villa Marie’s outdoor and interior spaces, engage with local materials, historical references, and handcrafted techniques. From hand-sculpted paper furniture to glass installations drifting in water, each piece becomes a conversation between place, form, and time.
The exhibition features contributions from Bunker Gallery (with a project by Ilaria d’Atri), Cosimo Bonciani, CCONTINUA+MAMT, Finemateria, FMM Design, Pietro Franceschini, Duccio Maria Gambi, Daniele Giannetti, Costantino Gucci, Iammi, Millim Studio, Movimento Gallery, and Sara Ricciardi, alongside works by Jonathan Bocca himself. Each designer was selected for their affinity with craft-based practices and ties to the Tuscan region.
Bocca’s own contributions include Tradizione II, a lamp and table hand-sculpted in paper that draw from Lucca’s historic paper-making tradition. His immersive installation Labirinto repurposes antique iron wine barrel hoops to evoke the labyrinth motif carved into the Cathedral of Lucca, while Camelia, a symbolic lamp, pays tribute to the region’s native flower. His works offer meditations on memory, place, and transformation through reclaimed materials.
Other standout works include Fluid Identity by Sara Ricciardi and Luca Turelli, a glass and gold leaf sculpture floating in Villa Marie’s pool, and Crisalide by Cosimo Bonciani for Bunker Gallery, a totemic table-and-chair ensemble symbolising metamorphosis. FMM Design contributes two tactile pieces, Silva, a sculptural lamp referencing filtered forest light, and Lunae, a mirror framed by brass and Portoro marble.
The experimental tone continues with Oculus Celestia by Costantino Gucci, a dappled mirror reflecting liquid motion; Vanitas by Ilaria d’Atri, a series of pink stoneware vases with botanical contours; and Metamorfosi by Sara Ricciardi Studio, which reimagines glass as a living, shifting material bound by brass.
Sculptural seating pieces such as Beastly Heart and Loveseat by Elakform reinterpret woodwork through exaggerated form and glossy finishes, while Neemesi’s 16.51 Table introduces recycled travertine into the material palette. Iammi’s Un Pesce Fuor d’Acqua pouf and Franceschini’s Urania chair both adopt zoomorphic or biomorphic forms that explore tension between sensuality and play.
Material research takes center stage with works like Please Hold Up, a polyurethane foam chair by Finemateria, and Metalique, Millim Studio’s hand-moulded metal coffee table series that foregrounds the sculptural potential of surface. Ostraka by CCONTINUA+MAMT revisits ancient ceramic techniques, creating amphorae and imagined relics etched with symbols and mantras.
Duccio Maria Gambi contributes two collections: Subtraction, in which material removal defines sculptural form, and Inerte Grafico, a bench combining cement and recycled plastic using terrazzo-style techniques. Each piece underscores the exhibition’s broader focus on process, raw material, and environmental context.
Villa Marie itself plays an integral role in the project. The restored 18th-century estate, owned by Marleen and Luc Van Marcke, functions as more than a host venue; its gardens, architecture, and historical aura inform the way each work is experienced. The setting allows objects to breathe in conversation with the natural surroundings, further grounding the exhibition’s commitment to slowness, locality, and artistic authenticity.
For private visits to Design in a Real World, email info@villamarie.it. VESTIGIA welcomes continued interest from the design and art communities, and encourages visitors to stay connected for news of future projects that continue this dialogue between craft, context, and contemporary design.
