SAN FRANCISCO, Italian Cultural Institute / IT Art Today

San Francisco, April- May 2010: The RAY CHAIR and RAY SOFA by Antonio Pio Saracino along with his design sketches, featured in the group exhibition ‘.IT ITALIAN ART TODAY’ at The Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco.

The Ray Sofa and Ray Chair are an exploration of the structural components found in the natural world and the ways in which they can find expression in design. Each chair is constructed with a cellular assemblage of multiple strips of rubber foam and then coated with an elastic polymer skin.

This chair exists as a visual contradiction – it looks as hard as a gemstone, but in fact, it is soft and comfortable.

When viewed from above, the Ray Sofa and Chair are reminiscent of a composition of pixels and also resembles the way crystals are formed.