‘Monolithic yet sensual and sensorial’ is how Vincent Van Duysen, the Belgian master of minimalism, describes his latest collection of stone furniture, designed in collaboration with Mexican materials brand Arca. Titled ‘Gravitas’, the collection, unveiled during Design Miami 2023, comprises 18 elements ranging from tables and chairs to a library stand.
Citing Isamu Noguchi as a primary inspiration, Van Duysen says, ‘I really admire the contemporary artists who work with natural stone in a very expressionist, evocative and emotionally sensual way.’ He also looked to classical Greek, Roman and Egyptian designs. ‘I wanted the pieces I designed for Arca to be very archetypal, to lean into primary forms from the past.’
Gravitas: Vincent Van Duysen for Arca
The collection features four stones – a Carrara marble and a rust-coloured porphyry stone, both from Italy, a sand-hued Cafecina from Spain, and a lava stone from Mexico – and the defining feature throughout is the juxtaposition of rough and polished surfaces, which gives a sense of the force of gravity versus lightness. The collection is largely handmade, with each piece taking between 40-90 hours to produce, depending on the hardness of the stone.
‘Vincent’s perfectionism pushed our boundaries and took us out of our comfort zone,’ says Gerardo Cortina, who founded Arca in 2001. ‘He can see detail from a mile away, he can see if something is not perfect. It was a big challenge to work with him. He has pushed us to look forward.’
The pieces combine different techniques, with the shapes carved using CNC machines (or by hand for the lava stone pieces made in Mexico), then hand-hammered to achieve the rough finish, and brushed to soften the final effect. Contrasting surfaces are then polished by hand. ‘The work of the hand is connected to our soul, this collection goes back to a time when handwork was the norm,’ says Cortina. ‘The textures that Vincent wanted are impossible to achieve even with the best machines of the world. And that is the soul of the project.’
The word ‘soul’ is also referenced by Van Duysen when recalling his collaboration with Arca, alongside the human connection and chemistry. ‘Without that, you cannot create pieces that have such a sense of humanity.’
Exploring a wide pool of inspirational references, he also looked to James Turrell’s visual optical effects, Roni Horn’s glass sculptures and the work of Anish Kapoor. ‘The pieces will not only dialogue with space, but also with other objects, with art,’ he says. ‘And they’re very versatile. They don’t belong to a single world, but to a universe that is much broader than a room.’
‘Gravitas’ is on show during Design Miami from 7-10 December 2023
Arca Wynwood
260 NW 27th Street
Miami
vincentvanduysen.com
gpoarca.com
A version of this story appears in the December 2023 Entertaining Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today!
