Gesture is the primordial element in every work of art. We speak of the tangible trace of thought becoming form, of matter coming to life through the craftsman’s hand. The Gesti column was created to discover creative acts and to tell the stories of those who, with conscious movements, shape raw materials into expressions of beauty and technique. Today, Gestures is dedicated to Atelier Terre, a Florentine workshop, chosen from 22 creators, who reinterprets the tradition of the Florentine commesso in a contemporary style, and who brings the composition Simbiosi and to the international limelight atRévélations 2025 - Biennale Internationale Métiers d’Art et Créations, a landmark event for thecontemporary artsandcrafts sector visitable at the Grand Palais in Paris from May 21-25, 2025. The 2025 edition also marks a particularly important step for Italy, which will be present as Guest of Honor country, confirming the strategic role of Made in Italy in the global creative scene.
The organization of the Italian participation is overseen by Elisa Guidi, coordinator of Artex, Tuscany’s Center for Artistic and Traditional Craftsmanship. And we at Finestre sull’Arte want to tell about the work of the Italian artisans selected to represent the country. The Atelier Terre workshop was born with the intention of renewing a historical language of Florence craftsmanship, thus aiming to project it beyond traditional two-dimensional decoration. Its approach is oriented toward experimentation with volumes and materials, with a focus on three-dimensionality and the use of sculptural surfaces.
For the 2025 edition of Révélations, Atelier Terre presents Symbiosis, a modular work created for the occasion. It is a composition of six hollow blocks of patinated bronze, four of which are partially covered in stone, designed to evoke a cluster of balani: small marine crustaceans with a characteristic conical shape, often pink or purplish, that proliferate on surfaces immersed in brackish water. The installation thus consists of independent modules made of irregular shapes and designed to be arranged in close contact with each other, without a privileged vantage point. The whole thus reproduces the seemingly chaotic but structured configuration of a living colony.
The goal of the project is to overcome the two-dimensionality that has characterized the Florentine commesso technique for centuries. The decision to apply it to three-dimensional objects thus allows the study of new modes of representation, in which surfaces lose their sharp edges and ornamental motifs approach an abstract and organic aesthetic. Symbiosis sits ideally halfway between the mineral and biological worlds, with an appeal to hybrid natural forms that elude unambiguous classification. In this case, matter plays a central role in the design. The blocks, completely welded and finished by hand, are made of bronze sheets and finished with two different surface treatments. The first consists of a partial coating using thin slices of amethyst, cut according to the Florentine commesso technique. The chosen variety has obvious white veins that recall the striations typical of balani. The second treatment concerns the hot patination of the bronze, aimed at obtaining green and brown shades that simulate the chromatic alterations of marine surfaces eroded by water. The chromatic interaction between the violet of the amethyst and the oxidized tones of the metal generates a strong but balanced visual contrast that reinforces the symbolic link between the two materials. The work’s modular structure also allows for display flexibility: the six elements can be reduced or multiplied depending on the available space and the client’s needs. For the Paris exhibition, the modules will be displayed according to the sketch designed by the studio, without a hierarchical orientation that privileges one side over another. The intention is to leave the viewer free to analyze the surfaces from all angles.
Alongside its official participation in Révélations 2025, Atelier Terre was invited to present a second project for the Le Banquet section. For the curatorial showcase, the Florentine studio proposes Bougainville, an articulated wall tenture conceived as a modular stone tapestry inspired by the summer blooms of the ornamental plant boungaville. The work takes shape from thin slices of amethyst, chosen for their transparencies and purplish hues that, when juxtaposed, evoke the effect of an abstract watercolor.
Against this stone backdrop, deliberately devoid of sharp contours, sit elements representing bourdons, or bumblebees in flight, made using chalcedony,Volterra jaspe and tourmaline quartz. Instead, the natural veins of the stones guide the elaboration of the motifs, through an approach that alternates between illusionistic fidelity and compositional freedom.
Structurally, the composition consists of a series of irregular hexagonal plates, each consisting of a marquetted surface mounted on a titanium support, joined together by movable hinges, also made of titanium. The system allows the work to articulate in space, adapting to walls or three-dimensional surfaces like a climbing plant organism. The lightness and strength of the support allow for versatile use, which can range from furniture to wall art to sculptural presentation. The project stands out for its ability to communicate two different ways of understanding marqueterie: on the one hand, figurative, meticulous and controlled rendering; on the other hand, a more fluid practice that is led by the spontaneous variations of the material.
At the heart of Atelier Terre is the meeting of two artisans with shared training and a kindred vision. Philip Kron Morelli, founder of the studio, was born in Desenzano del Garda in 1991 and started the workshop in Florence, driven by an interest in the transformations that time imprints on materials, objects and artistic techniques. He is joined by Arianne Palla, a Florentine born in 1993, who shares the same fascination with stones, their natural geometries and man’s ability to bond with them through art. Both trained at the Scuola di Alta Formazione dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, where they earned the title of cultural heritage restorers. And it was within the walls of the historic institution that they learned the fundamentals of Florentine commesso, an inlay technique that employs hard stones such as chalcedony, jaspers, agates and flints to create mimetic figurative motifs, recognizable by the precision of the joints and the brilliance of the surfaces. Originating in the late 16th century with the founding of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure by the Medici family, commesso evolved as a decorative art form, applied to objects, furniture and architecture. It is precisely in this groove that Atelier Terre fits in, preserving its traditional rules on the one hand, while on the other introducing a freer visual language built around the chromatic and material qualities of the stones themselves. Throughout its activity, the workshop has developed specific solutions to expand the application possibilities of the Florentine technique. Among the achievements are light stone tables, obtained by lining the orders on carbon fiber panels or titanium slabs. This is the case, for example, of a 70-cm-diameter table top composed of a double layer of commesso on carbon support, with a total thickness of 6 mm and a total weight of 8 kg. Or of a clerical necklace lined on rock crystal, which achieves a total thickness of just 3 mm.
The studio can also follow all stages of the creative process, from the design to the production of the piece, calibrating the technical characteristics (thickness, weight, support) to the needs of the project. We are therefore talking about a workshop equipped to produce both single pieces and small limited edition series. The compositions can be born from a predefined model, in which Atelier Terre takes care of the transposition into stone, the selection of materials and the elaboration of the sketches, or from an entirely creative process, in which the choice of stones guides the entire design, but one of the peculiar elements of the workshop is definitely the attention paid to materials. Atelier Terre has a sample collection of more than 150 varieties of stones, from private collections, specialized dealers or collected directly in the area.
Alongside hard and semi-precious stones, the workshop also uses ancient marbles, selected on the basis of aesthetic qualities and technical compatibility. Working with natural stones implies a deep knowledge of the material and special attention in the selection, on which the success of each piece depends: manual cutting with the bow is -in fact, the main technique used in the workshop since it is the only method that allows obtaining figurative patterns with mimetic rendering and invisible joints.
Alongside the original creations, Atelier Terre produces copies of historical models from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure and creates works in style, intended for furniture projects. In one of the documented works, a commesso sample was made from an OPD model for an antique-style table. In another, however, a tile taken from a museum model was brought to completion before polishing. Another line of work involves veneers for furniture accessories, carried out in collaboration with artisan PKM for the Baldi Home Jewels company. Documented works include table tops veneered in lapis lazuli and yellow marble, curved coated surfaces for vases, and tables decorated with malachite, examples that show the adaptability of the technique to complex surfaces and unconventional geometries. Although the approach is handcrafted, the attention to detail, originality of technical solutions, and quality of materials position Atelier Terre in a territory that flawlessly blends art, design, and especially high decoration.
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| Atelier Terre brings the beauty of the Florentine commesso to Paris for Révélations 2025 |
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