PRESENTED IN PARIS BY GALERIE PHILIA IN COLLABORATION WITH ESPACE MEYER ZAFRA, THIS DUO EXHIBITION BROUGHT INTO DIALOGUE THE WORKS OF MANUEL MÉRIDA AND PIETRO FRANCESCHINI. THE PROJECT WAS ANCHORED IN THE NOTION OF POROSITY—UNDERSTOOD BOTH AS A MATERIAL CONDITION AND AS A CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO PRACTICE.
MÉRIDA’S WORK UNFOLDS THROUGH SURFACES THAT ABSORB, TRANSFORM, AND EVOLVE OVER TIME, REFLECTING A PROCESS DRIVEN BY OPENNESS AND UNPREDICTABILITY. FRANCESCHINI’S PRACTICE OPERATES WITH A SIMILAR PERMEABILITY, MOVING BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, AND SCULPTURE TO PRODUCE OBJECTS THAT EXIST BETWEEN FUNCTION AND AUTONOMY.
SET IN DIALOGUE, THEIR WORKS ESTABLISH A SHARED TERRAIN WHERE BOUNDARIES REMAIN DELIBERATELY UNSTABLE. MATERIALS, DISCIPLINES, AND INTENTIONS INTERSECT, CREATING A BODY OF WORK THAT RESISTS FIXED DEFINITIONS AND INSTEAD PROPOSES A FLUID, CONTINUOUS EXCHANGE BETWEEN ART AND DESIGN.