GLASS is one of the world’s most fascinating materials, enabling one to see through it, see it, and to see oneself in it. Glass is also the backbone of Gallotti & Radice, an Italian furniture brand.
During the opening of their BGC showroom on Feb. 20, Silvia Gallotti, daughter of co-founder Pierangelo Gallotti and present CEO, showed off various things the company has made in glass. There’s a tray with a golden mirror showing one’s face as if one were to go around with a flash of sunlight, spherical lamps of blown glass, and a sideboard made entirely of glass — but with a wooden finish.
Glass at home is now common, but during the 1950s, when the company was first started, glass furniture had been a novelty. Ms. Gallotti believes that her father created the first all-glass table in 1968. “It was new and innovative at the beginning,” she said. “They were different, presenting this material in furniture design. But then, glass became more popular and cheap because of the Chinese proposals and very cheap alternatives.”
Glass is still on the table for them, but with finishes exclusive to them, they eliminated the usual look for glass and created something completely new. “To still be glass, but to present it in another way. To dress it up with different clothes,” said Ms. Gallotti. For example, a collaboration with artist Simon Berger was created with sheets of broken glass, smashed strategically in places to form a picture.
“It allows you to have very thin surfaces,” she said on the advantages of working with the material.
The company first saw life in 1955, engraving glass for other customers. Mr. Gallotti and his partner, Luigi Radice, then decided to create their own glass furniture. “We evolved during that time. We evolved from a brand that was focused on glass only to a brand that today is focused on total living,” she said. As she said this, we had been looking at the Audrey sofa, made with soft cushions and a soft, rounded shape.
Galloti & Radice comes from the tradition of mid-century design, a look that has seen its renaissance. “Creativity after the war,” she said about the causes of this golden age of modern design. “Not only in Italy. We had a lot of renaissances in that time. Creativity and passion. They created everything from zero.”
Italy is considered one of the world’s design capitals, seen in its furniture, clothes, and architecture. “It’s creativity that I think belongs to the DNA of the people there,” she said. “It’s a concentration of knowledge, and heritage.”
Gallotti & Radice is distributed in the Philippines through Living Innovations Corp., with a showroom in Fort Victoria in BGC, Taguig. — Joseph L. Garcia
