GOLD LEAF GILDING
One of the oldest arts of humankind, the art of making sculpturing ornaments in a wooden object creates undeniable
beauty forms and shapes.
From its natural look and textures, to highly polished and colored versions, wood has always been easily accessible and relatively easy to manipulate, attracting the interest of artists and designers over the years. Adding details to a piece can be performed thru different wood carving styles and techniques, such as pattern, blocking, detailing, surfacing, or smoothening.
Although the wood carving technique is one of most widely practiced, it survives much less than other main materials like stone carvings or bronze, changing thru time if left long periods of time without care.
THE NEST CHAIR BY NINA BRUUN
MARIE THERESE MIRROR BY BOCA DO LOBO
The gold leaf application can be called gold leafing or gilding. It has been a process of ornamental decoration used on different materials and surfaces by the application of a thin layer of gold. It is available in a wide variety of karats and shades, and actually there are a few substitutes for gold such as silver or copper. Using different techniques, the art of gilding has been mostly applied to the decoration of art objects, such as statues, or even pictures frames.
Architecture is also one of the creative fields that applies the rich technique on buildings and design components, evoking unique moments of rare opulence. Traditional water gilding is the most difficult and it remains unchanged for hundreds of years and it is still done by hand.
CAMILIA CABINET BY KOKET
The art of casting metals into a chosen shape and size. The process starts by melting metal into a liquid, pouring it in a mold with a cavity of the desired shape, and removing the material, or casting, after the final work gets cool and then solidified. The solidified part can be ejected or even broken out of the mold. This technique is one of the most used for making intricate forms that would be difficult to have from other methods.
Cast iron and aluminium are the most common metals processed, although bronze, brass, steel, among other varieties, are also used to produce castings.
SEQUOIA CENTER TABLE BY BRABBU
COROLLARIA JEWELRY COLLECTION
One of the most representative art forms of the Portuguese cultural heritage. The renowned blue hand painted tiles reflect a tradition used for hundreds of years. Azulejo is usually a clay or ceramic plate piece, generally with a square shape decorated with glazed colorful designs, and repeated hundreds to a few thousand times. It is used as wall covering decoration, being linked to architectural use, covering a large surface areas on both the inside and outside of buildings. The majority of tiles illustrates Moorish designs which have curvilinear, lacelike and looping designs, or even have geometric or floral motifs.
Originally, azulejos appeared in Portugal thanks to the Arabs in the XV century. Since then, the country has been using the art uninterrupted for over five centuries, meaning it is already part of the Portuguese soul and the most meaningful place for this timeless technique movement.