Text by Pedro Koberle
Photographed by Fernando Mendes/ Eduardo Dall Oglio
Rafael Triboli’s furniture art originates from a struggle with wood or steel – not to conquer matter, to impose an active form onto a passive substance, but to collectively negotiate the boundaries of construction. In his chairs, an orthogonal base supports a backrest with organic and irregular contours. While the foundation remains sober, firm, and angular, the seat and back possess greater agility, breaking the austere rigidity in favor of expressive ornamentation.
It should be understood that two reading axes coexist here, not solely for the chairs, but for his work overall: a vertical, informative axis, where each object exists within its circumscribed space, and another horizontal axis, a plane where objects and people converge, transitioning from individual pieces to the realization of an environment. Expanding the schematization a bit further, a spiritual upward thrust coexists alongside a weight that grounds the form in pragmatic creation.
While the elongated backrests seemingly strive to touch the sky, and the smaller ones echo the ogive shape of medieval church naves and cemetery tombstones, the stark design of the seats, which deliberately reject ergonomics, provide a persistent earthly counterpoint. “Ora et labora,” in accordance with the Benedictine maxim.
A Triboli table, adorned with its orbit of greenish wax lozenges, encircled by chairs featuring radial grooves also crafted from pools of wax, forms a paradoxical meeting point – as ascetic as it is welcoming. Even devoid of people animating the scene, the arrangement itself resembles a gathering of small monk-like entities pondering an unfamiliar horoscope.
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The milky, opaque nature of his furniture’s coating contrasts with the glossy, nearly silky finish of the tung oil. Once again, one material absorbs light, while the other disperses it to the surroundings, reflecting the tense fusion of abstract spirituality and tangible craftsmanship through which Rafael brings his forms to life.
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