Which were the crucial phases of your professional path?
«It started when I was studying at Milan’s Brera Academy, just when art and design began to get closer and closer, and so did artisans, designers and artists. Everything was about experimentation, with no boundaries between one practice and the other, so that creating either a work on canvas or an artistic piece of furniture was completely natural to me. This led me to produce my first design items and collections, as well participate in my first exhibits at the art galleries. It was such a intense thrilling time of my life as well as the beginning of my artistic path that over the years made me get close to both industrial and interior design, creating the open-minded professional that I am today, in between art and industry».

How would you describe your approach to design?
«I begin by focusing on its artistic, expressive, almost pictorial side, then I turn this into an actual project ».

Which are the criteria of your creative process?
«Each collection is aimed at telling a different story. Anomalie, for instance, was about rebelling and freely creating: I materialized this idea by making the leg of a table or a chair actually go through the top or the seat. Filo Bianco was about resistance and lightness and the best artistic expression of handicraft. These topics are very tied to my professional story as well as my personal life and how I feel from time to time ».

Which are your favorite materials?
«Metal, harmonic steel, stainless steel, iron, aluminum, brass and copper, as they really suit the handcrafted and artistic process».

Consoles, seats, lamps, tables… your production has no limits...
«Each type of object can tell a story, an idea, plus it is really challenging to me to always deal with new items and points of view. I believe artists, artisans, designers, architects and so on must face any sort of projects by merging their skills and expertise. Luckily for us this seems to be the current new trend of approaching a project».

What about your work exhibited at Milan’s Urban Center, located at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele?
«It’s the first piece from my SG collection, Sacred Geometry, a range of light artworks based on the idea of the search for sacredness, balance, silence and contemplation. By studying and applying sacred geometry I’m producing wall sculptures that merge handicraft and ultra-precision machines. The result is a massive bright item that looks like it doesn’t belong to any time or era».

Which work best depicts you?
«My work at Milan’s Urban Center, as it expresses and embodies my deeper and more personal research».

What are you currently working on?
«I’m about to present Sacred Geometry at Paris’ Tajan in October, launch a new lamp designed for Fabbian Illuminazione, and design a private summer residence based on sacred geometry criteria».

INFO: www.giominelli.com

PHOTO: Courtesy Gio Minelli