1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

M: I was born and I grew up in Alessandria, Italy. I’ve also lived in Switzerland, for my studies, and in Paris for work.

P: I was born in Turin, Italy. I lived there my childhood but then I made important experiences in Switzerland, Portugal and Spain besides Italy. So I feel mostly European.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

M: My father comes from Venice, we used to go back quite often. I still remember the unique feeling of entering inside S. Marco’s Basilica.

P: I don’t think I have a specific memory. Even though I grew up in a rich architectonic and artistic environment, I think it’s difficult to be conscious about it during childhood. Back then it’s just curiosity. With adulthood you get to understand that even if you didn’t notice it, it went under your skin. The curiosity transformed into necessity.

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

M: I started young helping my father in his furniture business and I loved it. This early experience pushed me then to start my studies in architecture and design.

P: Definitely, I’ve just considered to study car design at some point, considering Turin’s automotive history. Then I started my architecture and design career and that remains my passion. But I wouldn’t rule out designing a car at some point as well 🙂

4. What led you to the design creation ?

M: I have always loved to draw since I was a child. whenever I had the chance I was always with the pen in my hand. Then this passion materialized and developed starting my studies in architecture, a choice that was fundamental for my growth in the field of design.

P: The studies of architecture opened my mind to the concept of design as a unique idea. Starting from that, it’s just a matter of a different scales, which I enjoy in any case.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

M&P: We like to start from an abstract idea generated by a word, a text, an art piece. The following steps include a dialogue that eventually arrives to the design of the object. 
Beside all this, being part of a duo is an added value to us, which enables the generation of new ideas and different points of view.
Our different personalities and tastes lead to a process of back and forward, subtracting and adding information till we get to what we want.
A result that brings up the qualities of both of us.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

M: Every day is different from the previous one. I usually like to start early the morning because I feel more productive. The afternoons and evenings are for talking and exchanging ideas but always with the right amount of caffeine.

P: I generally like a long and quiet routine to have a nice and calm start. I prefer to do the most conceptual tasks during the morning and the production ones in the afternoon. I also enjoy the quietness of the night to conceive new pieces, ideas and to work hard when needed. Then reality comes in and everything is mixed up.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

M&P: We like raw materials. Materials that are able to age, to generate a patina and improve their characteristics with time.

Starting from that we have no prejudice and we like to experiment a lot !

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

M&P: We like the contrast between an effortless look and complex technical solutions to achieve it. Our work, which is starting from simple geometric volumes, brings the composition of the latter to the limit through a deep study of forces and gravity. Unstable elements are then connected together to create a condition of stability, leaving this research still perceptible once the work is completed.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

M&P: To love what you do and to be stubborn with your vision. But we’re still open for advice 🙂

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

M&P: Our priority is to try to achieve a design that could express our ideas. Right now we don’t know where it could belong, maybe we’ll in the future.

11. What designers have influenced you ?

M: Peter Zumthor has been surely one of my biggest influences, the use of materials and the strength of the atmospheres that he is able to create always amaze me.

P: I periodically get obsessed with some designers and then I move to the next one. Right now I think it’s the Valerio Olgiati’s turn.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

M: Vincent Van Duysen, Vincenzo de Cotiis.

P : Muller Van Severen, Fala Atelier, Arquitectura G…

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

M: Mark Rothko, Arnaldo Pomodoro

P : Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Eduardo Chillida

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

P&M: Minimalist constructions which emphasize the weight and the nature of the materials.

15. Is there anything you would like to add ?

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Proust Questionnaire with very short answers (one or a few words) :
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust. Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde, Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)