A crystallised forest, suspended between the real and the imaginary, has come to life amidst the frescoes and Venetian sown floors of Villa Bagatti Valsecchi in Varedo. Frozen Forest, the installation by FAP Ceramiche, transformed one of the mansion’s historic rooms into a dreamlike environment, where mirrored ceramic surfaces reflected glimpses of architecture, sky and visitors, creating a continuous perceptual play between inside and outside, between tangible and imagined.
Frozen Forest represents FAP Ceramiche’s debut at Alcova, one of the most eagerly awaited and experimental events of the Fuorisalone. The company chose to present an installation with a strong conceptual and visual impact to dialogue with the suspended and fascinating atmosphere of the villa and perfectly embody FAP Ceramiche’s ambition to design surfaces that go beyond their decorative function. With Frozen Forest, the company invites to an immersive experience in which innovative ceramic materials – reflective, iridescent, almost liquid – become a tool for interaction between physical and virtual space, between reality and imagination.
Frozen Forest is articulated on three conceptual and material levels. The first, consisting of a backdrop of large mirrored ceramic slabs arranged in an arc, provides changing views of the room, also reflecting the landscape outside. The second consists of a series of reflecting parallelepipeds, each oriented to offer different perspectives and enhance architectural details of the room. The third level is occupied by three volumes dedicated to three moodboards inspired by the trends Italianità, Japandi and Colour Drench, through which FAP has narrated the new collections and new aesthetic scenarios of contemporary living.
The fulcrum of the project is Mirror Fade, an innovative porcelain stoneware surface in the 120×278 cm size and 6 mm thickness, which blends the materiality of onyx with the reflective effect of a mirror. The result is a gradient slab, capable of passing with elegance from marble texture to a completely mirror-like surface: a solution of great expressive power, capable of amplifying light and redefining the perception of space. The choice of this setting so rich in natural light further enhanced the visual effects and architectural vocation of Frozen Forest, confirming once again FAP Ceramiche’s ability to interpret the narrative and design potential of wall coverings in an innovative way.
