lithos design rotates colorful marble patterns in opus motus

lithos design rotates colorful marble patterns in opus motus
all images courtesy of lithos design

spinning progressively faster, the circular marble tops of the ‘opus motus’ series are activated by a lever to merge their colors and patterns together. designed by raffaello galiotto in collaboration with italian company lithos design, the installation is based on the natural colors of stone and their transformative powers when combined with movement. incorporating six types of marble from different places around the world, the items were sourced from the four corners of the globe – from east to west – verde giada from china, travertino rosso and travertino giallo from iran, bianco thassos from greece, nero marquinia from spain, azul macaubas from brazil. all the colors and geometric structures were customized based on the RGB additive model according to specific optical and chromatic effects. the various designs of the marble tesserae transform through the rotating movement, revealing new shapes and colors to the observer.

the ‘rose’ design sees the marble criss-crossing, mixing and dissolving to create new shades

‘slot’ transforms to a completely different image, when at a standstill it is distinguished by soft decorations influenced by nature

the  playful ‘pinwheel’ has four marble colors merge together, creating a palette of subtle and delicate shades

the ‘lollipop’ in motion reveals a different intensity as the red and green flow into one another

the intent is to play with the different effects and dynamics the colors have to offer

the ‘opus motus’ series are activated by a lever to merge their colors and patterns together

the composition is subject to the wheel’s kinetic motion, it is deconstructed and then reconstructed in a new arrangement

the spectator-actor moves the lever mechanism to gradually increase the radial speed

an optical illusion can be perceived as the various elements of the marble apparently move in a disjointed rotatory motion

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