Alba Gallizia has founded the mark ALGARES, in order to give modern expression to forgotten materials and old techniques.
“When I think of objects to design, I search after something which has a soul, and whose meaning might interwine closely with its form, and whose function might belong to its meaning. I like to work by using different materials, such as glass, wood, bronze, brass, cocciopesto
(a kind of terrazzo) and stone, often in an unorthodox way.”
Her work draws inspiration on one hand from masters such as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Adolf Loos, on the other from protagonists of Italian design, such as Albini, Scarpa, Ponti and Gardella.
“When I start off with a new design, I like getting inspired and provoked by neighbouring fields of creativity, such as painting, photography, cinema and literature; sparks then turn on. With regard to my jewelry collection, I started off from images by Matisse, Monet, Klimt, Olbrich and Hoffmann, and used reminiscences of objects which I have seen over the years in various museums.”
ALGARES jewels give character and light to the shapes of the human body, whilst the design objects give form and substance to the spaces we inhabit. The jewels and the objects together make the most of the history of the made in Italy and of the workmanship techniques, and confront the current risk of their extinction. The symbiosis of craft and design is especially intriguing when viewed from abroad, where many traditions have already disappeared. The jewels mark the start of a work-in-progress, which will soon comprise also furniture pieces, leather goods and other artifacts.
“I have met with exceptionally good Italian craftsmen who know how to make refined objects, each being the outcome of complex and time-consuming techniques, and whose high production costs today threatens their future existence. Their loss would represent a crime: one would lose secrets which in the past days were passed on only by way of experience.”
