MANU BAÑÓ’S NEW COLLECTION EXPLORES THE LIMITS AND PROPERTIES OF COPPER. IT WAS PRODUCED IN SANTA CLARA DEL COBRE, MICHOACÁN, MEXICO, A MAGICAL TOWN WITH A LONG GOLDSMITH TRADITION, WITH ARTISANS ACCUSTOMED TO MAKING SMALL COPPER OBJECTS SUCH AS POTS OR VESSELS.
THE COLLECTION CONSISTS OF 3 PIECES, A CHAIR, A COFFEE TABLE AND A WALL LAMP, MADE BY HAND HAMMERING A THIN SHEET OF COPPER THAT, WITH THE HAMMERING ACQUIRES STRENGTH AND THREE-DIMENSIONALITY.
year: 2023
Edition: limited
Dimensions: 100L X 70W X 72H CM / 39.5L X 27.5W X 28H IN
MATERIAL & FINISH:
ALL PIECES ARE HANDCRAFTED BETWEEN SANTA CLARA DEL COBRE, MICHOACÁN, AND MEXICO CITY. WORKING PRIMARILY WITH METAL—ESPECIALLY COPPER, ALONGSIDE BRASS, STAINLESS STEEL, AND ALUMINUM—THE PROCESS IS ROOTED IN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH MASTER ARTISANS.
COPPER PIECES ARE HAND-HAMMERED THROUGH A HIGHLY ARTISANAL PROCESS IN WHICH THE MATERIAL IS HEATED IN FIRE TO BECOME MALLEABLE AND THEN SHAPED THROUGH REPETITIVE, PRECISE GESTURES. THE FINAL STAGE TAKES PLACE IN MEXICO CITY, WHERE EACH PIECE IS CAREFULLY REFINED AND FINISHED.
DEFINED BY COMPLEX FORMS AND CHALLENGING SCALES, THE WORK REQUIRES TIME, PRECISION, AND A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIAL. EACH PIECE IS MADE SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, EMBRACING THE CHARACTER AND NATURAL VARIATIONS OF THE PROCESS.
