odd matter used 17th-century scagliola technique to create 'guise' collection

a 17th-century technique for producing faux marble is paired with a spray-painting technique from the custom car industry, to create this furniture collection designed by odd matter studio. as its name suggests, the ‘guise’ collection explores notions of appearance, embracing what the amsterdam-based studio describes as ‘an almost scary instinct’ to subvert the meaning of something and fake its real nature.

images courtesy of odd matter unless stated otherwise

the guise collection consists of amorphous pieces made from carved foam that have been coated in either iridescent car lacquer, or a classical faux-marble painting technique called scagliola. initially it consisted of three benches and a console but odd matter added a screen, table, and two planters, to the collection in 2019 especially for nilufar’s FAR exhibition.

the process is the result of odd matter’s ongoing interest and exploration of what possibilities lie hidden within existing techniques. scagliola dates back to the 17th century when it was used to substitute for costly marble inlays. it uses a composite substance made from selenite, glue and natural pigments, to imitating marble and other hard stones.

‘scagliola is a technique of making realistic artificial marble, used to adorn churches and palaces such as versailles, while the spray-painting technique comes from the custom car industry,’ studio founders els woldhek and georgi manassiev explain. ‘as such we might also be able to observe an ancestral tendency to put great effort in creating the surface of things to make them more attractive and desirable.’

odd matter developed guise for a new contemporary and experimental arm of the nilufar gallery called FAR, which had its official launch in 2018. founded by tehran-born nina yashar, the milanese gallery built on the seminal pilot project with an exhibition on the occasion of milan design week 2019, curated by studio vedét with the exhibition design by space caviar.

image courtesy of nilufar