Il Riposo del Designer 1963

Fabio de Sanctis’ ‘Il Riposo del Designer’ is a sculpture of a chair, but one that is draped and distorted by its heavy, almost mournful, form. The material is what gets me here. It's slathered on so thick, you can almost feel the weight of it. This kind of heavy impasto builds up a surface where the folds of fabric become the architecture of the sculpture. Look closely, and you’ll see the subtle hints of pink and the way the light catches the rough edges – it's a painterly quality that brings a kind of vulnerability to the piece. The title, ‘The Designer's Rest’, suggests something more. Is it about exhaustion, resignation, or maybe even death? There's an echo of classical draped sculptures here, but it’s also got a very contemporary feel – a bit like a Franz West sculpture, but with a melancholic twist. Like all good art, it holds multiple meanings without ever giving up its secrets.