Locatelli PartnersNullus Locus

After its debut in Milano, Nullus Locus embarks on a journey to New York,
presenting a fresh iteration that expands the boundaries of its embroidery
technique through an added collaboration with painter Sally J. Han.

The Latin phrase for embroidering is “acu pingere” or painting with the needle, takes on a new meaning in the challenge between materials such as metal and wood which offer unprecedented results when they meet. The art of embroidery allows for a new interpretation of contemporary painting by translating detailed technical drawings, and digitizing an artwork to program the embroidery machine’s algorithm.

For the New York installation of Nullus Locus, Locatelli Partners with Fabio
Zambernardi introduce five new vases in four different shapes, featuring Sally J. Han’s paintings meticulously crafted with embroidery using upwards of 80 different thread colors. The thread becomes the medium carrying the visual language of the paintings into a new material. This collaboration echoes the tradition where painters like Raphael painted cartoons for tapestries, establishing a reciprocal relationship where painting and textile arts elevated each other through an artistic exchange.

Stitching the needle into wood, a technique bridging the skills of the manual and the mechanical, was realized through the wisdom of Graziano Giordani who modified his sewing machines—a system that required more than a year of refining. The wood for each panel is extracted, supported, stitched, laminated, treated, and finally protected. The possibility of customization in the designs extends to every detail, from the choice of threads to the type of wood used, up to the design of the embroidery itself, the client becomes an integral part of the process, helping to define the use and expression of the material based on the specific needs of the project.

Whether it is the Latin statement “Nullus locus est domestica sede iucundior” which means, no place is more pleasant than one’s own home, or “Nullus locus sine genius est”, no place is without a spirit, the “nullus locus” is always the negation from which every comparison starts. Nullus Locus here is “no room” since it is not simply a question of its preparation but of its evocation. In the non-room, the architectural features emerge from the walls furrowed by the metal embroidery of craftsmen who, with a technique in which the lightness of the design and the thickness of the relief meet, make the metal thread stitched into the wood the protagonist of a new narrative.

For more information, please contact Trang Tran ([email protected])

Press:

Gina Nanni | Company agenda| [email protected]
Bianca Maria Bertolissi + Maria Elena Barbati | Barbati Bertolissi | [email protected]