MAURO MORI
05.22.2019 – 07.22.2019
Born in 1965, Milan based sculptor and designer Mauro Mori was trained as a traditional wood and stone artisan in his native Italy. The maturity of his work today reflects Mori’s ongoing exploration of the traditional Italian sculpting and carving techniques across mediums including wood, stone, brass, copper, and bronze. This exhibition highlights the artist’s most recent body of work, which exemplifies the artist’s passionate consideration of design and craftsmanship. The sculptural and textured silhouettes are informed and inspired by the very nature of the artist’s chosen material. His sensitivity to the matter’s beauty and sensuality, endows Mori’s work with a sense of appreciation for Nature.
“I see forms within the material and only allow them to reveal themselves through a patient and methodical process of subtraction.” — Mauro Mori
The artist chooses to carve or sculpt the material in its place of origin, allowing its environment to influence the final design. The wood pieces are carved out of the Seychelles’ Albizia Rosa Tree sourced near Mauro’s local studio, while the Italian marble blocks are sourced and carved by the artist near his Milanese studio.
The more recent brass and copper pieces are sculpted using the painstaking technique called battuto (“hammering”), which the artist uses to obtain the curved and textured silhouettes emphasizing the metal’s raw and “distressed” nature. The word battuto comes from the Italian verb battere — the action of repeated strokes. It may refer to surface decoration, a metal smithing technique, as well as a marker of rhythm or an indicator of life through the pulse and heartbeat’s rate.
