odd matter studio's 'fat rolls' vases are modelled after chubby arms

odd matter studio has designed a collection of tactile vases to resemble chubby flesh. created for italian brand and marble specialists bloc studios, the rotterdam-based studio was inspired by the material’s historical use and its contemporary processing techniques.

odd matter studio came up with the idea behind the collection after studying the use of marble in ancient sculpture and the qualities that characterize it as material. for centuries marble has been chosen by sculptors for its qualities and for the realistic representation of the body that it allows to be obtained.

the fat rolls collection is designed to give the impression of real life flesh, its translucent and waxy appearance mimicking an expressive texture that is similar to skin. odd matter were particularly inspired by ‘the rape of proserpina’, a baroque masterpiece by italian sculptor gian lorenzo bernini.

‘the grab of pluto’s hand on proserpina’s soft body inspired the shape of this vase,’ explains odd matter. ‘the roundish line of this masterpiece of classical art brings to mind the fat rolls on babies arms.’

‘[the inspiration] came from looking at the qualities and uses of marble. marble has this waxy, almost translucent appearance which is reminiscent of skin’, said the designers. ‘we love how skin and bodies can be expressed in marble and we wanted to create an object that would have that feeling to it. like how bodies in marble sculpture can look soft, like chubby baby arms.’

‘whenever we start with a project we really want to begin by looking at something as if we have never seen it before and work without having any expectations of what it is going to be.’

‘at the start things can be quite vague and require some trust that it will become something. by playing with the marble samples, and learning more about it, the things that we wanted to express became clear.’

once the final shapes were decided they were 3D generated by drawing a line into a special software, before playing with the diameter to create folds and creases that resemble a fat layer of skin. the vases were then produced by bloc studios, an italian studio that specializes in marble, before being shipped to rotterdam.

bloc studios was founded in the tuscan city of carrara in 2014 by sara ferron cima and massimo ciuffi, with the intention of transforming raw, natural stones into design pieces. the company has collaborated with a series of contemporary designers and studios including sabine marcelis, studiopepe and nick ross.

bloc studios follows the philosophy that every piece of marble contains is unique and it aims to retain that quality in every collaboration.