A tactile surface

Pigments is the result of a choice that Ferruccio Laviani pursues with great stubbornness.

"I proposed to Lea to definitively abandon mimesis, the game of imitation to which ceramic lends itself with flexibility" explains the designer. "I was interested instead working on the root of matter, the earth.

I was inspired by the work on the surface of David Tremlett and Sol LeWitt, in which the dexterity leaves a trace in the material and the color blends with its texture".

Lea Ceramiche is the brand of design research

Having clarified the aesthetic references, the great work was done by Lea Ceramiche: "Lea has always sought an original interpretation of trends, it is certainly the brand of the Panariagroup most focused on research", comments Emilio Mussini, president of the group.

"Pigmenti was a difficult but stimulating job: we wanted to characterize the production line of Slimtech in an innovative way, but to work on thicknesses of 3.5 mm and arrive at the thought effect from Laviani was a challenger".

The solution came from technological research and it's not strange. Industrial ceramics have always evolved on the wave of production innovation.

Natural effect and technical research

The tile normally has a uniform surface, with a more or less intense degree of brilliance depending on the glaze used. Pigments is definitely a breaking product, which instead seeks a porous, natural, artisanal effect.

"We would not have arrived without the collaboration with Ferruccio Laviani", concludes Emilio Mussini. Reminiscent of Lea Ceramiche's ties with design from the early 2000s: Diego Grandi, Fabio Novembre, Philippe Nigro, patrick Norguet and finally Laviani were the authors of collections always focused on avant-garde design and architecture.

Ferruccio Laviani: "A collection to be freely interpreted"

"I wanted an effect that recalls trowel, its imperfections. Once this aspect was refined, we adjusted the color range", Laviani says. The final palette represents a philological research, and to a certain extent daring, of the colors that characterize the urban architecture and that of the interiors.

Finally, there is a more trendy part. In total twelve saturated colors, unusual, which in Laviani's will will be an inspiration for personal interpretations.

"For the moment we stopped at uniform color, with the idea of working on the concept of a large mosaic, with a very strong and recognizable aesthetic and chromatic declaration".