Vectorealism

29/03/2025

The Europeans have landed in New York! We spent an unforgettable week at the Clive Davis Institute as part of the extended R.E.A.C.H. project. A huge thank-you to the amazing CDI staff, students, alumni, and everyone who made us feel right at home while showing us the incredible NYU Tisch facilities.

Highlights of the week included:
☑ Full immersion in the CDI program, covering songwriting, journalism, music business, production, and live performance classes
☑ A group photo on the 3,500-square-foot soundstage at the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center
☑ A kick-off meeting for the new partnership program at the original Beastie Boys’ Oscilloscope studio
☑ A Barry Manilow appreciation session in the Dolby Atmos & Critical listening room

pics .dy

07/02/2025

The most “Vectorealism” creation to date (first prototype)

Made with laser-cut ripstop spinnaker nylon and 3D-printed joints for fiberglass straws. Sea, weather, and exceptional hospitality provided by the Basque Country and our fabulous REACH project partners .design

photos 📸 .menini

23/01/2025

what a week!

17/01/2025

Truth be told, it seemed much easier online. Even though we started by studying Alexander Bell’s original articles from 1903, looking for expired patents, and interviewing master craftsman kite makers to ensure we approached the residency’s theme – the wind – with both a scientific and creative mindset.
But deep down, we knew our chances of making a 3.5-meter-wide kite soar high in the sky, even with the Basque wind, were slim. Indeed, when the perfect moment arrived, we weren’t ready yet. A 75 km/h wind swept through Biarritz on the night of Monday the 6th, but in the following days, when we finished the kite assembly and moved all materials to the beach, the wind had dropped to just 7 km/h.
Now, all the materials are back in Milano, ready to be repaired for a new test flight. We’re going to check the weather forecast daily and stay prepared. This project is not a sculpture or installation; it’s something we wanted to play with together with the incredible group of talented artists from the Basque Country, France, the USA, and Italy we met during the last REACH Symposium.
The Meucci 3D kite, with its clumsy, romantic, and multilayered narrative, accompanied the process throughout the entire experience, serving as a tangible and imposing representation of some of the themes discussed during mentoring sessions: iterations, startups, prototyping, failure, and success. In the end, if you think about it, the famous kite experiments of Alexander Bell started right after the exit of his telecommunication startup.
For the final party, our hosts decided to hang the kite with an aerial lift, showcasing it to the public in the exhibition preceding the concert. That’s indeed the highest point reached so far by this object, and we want to thank all the team that made this possible. That’s another reason why we decided to dedicate this intervention to all the inventors, designers, and behind-the-scenes creatives who make performing arts possible. By the way, did you know that the true inventor of the telephone was an italian theater technician?
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Fiberglass and polyamide spinnaker ripstop, with 3D-printed joints. Cover photo by

11/01/2025

Three distinct explorations in the language of photography are the contributions to the REACH Biarritz residency by artists from

Where the Wind Lingers, So Do the Fragments I Can’t Forget - Giovanni Borgia

Vagues d’Expression, Photographies - Sofia Menini

Echoes of Creation, Photographies - Stefano Pozzi

30/10/2024

ELE-VATE myself – layers on human canvas

Our Digital Fabrication course for the Innovation and Materials Master at is starting in a month! No time for getting bored: this year, our studio partners will showcase the full creative potential of personal fabrication technologies. During a 60-hour full immersion, we will start by examining the innovation potential of for design workflows. In the workshops, we will teach how to sketch and ideas for product , , and .

13/06/2024

On the fourth day of the Symposium, we hosted a panel discussion with Milan-based music professionals to explore the local scene.
Stefano Gilardino kicked things off by reminding us of the true spirit of DIY fandom. He shared his story of creating a fanzine by cutting photos from magazines and pasting them into a school notebook – a project that blossomed into a published book and a piece of rock music history.
Marco Monaci followed, discussing the tension between personal artistic exploration with his band and his public contributions through his books & records store. He highlighted the struggle of balancing artistic expression with being a cultural touchstone for a growing community.
Drago, a highly respected session musician who has played on countless influential Italian albums in the past decade (including Calibro 35), provided a different perspective. His story served as a reminder that the urge for creative self-expression can sometimes outweigh market and career demands.
Our youngest panelist, Simone Frulio, brought a breath of fresh air and an entrepreneurial spirit. His vision offered a glimpse of hope for what future success and fame might look like.
The discussion transcended national borders, revealing a surprising amount of common ground between all of us – a shared passion for music and a deep respect for the DIY spirit that binds creative communities across the globe.

12/06/2024

So, since we’re hosting the Symposium, Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo became our muse right off the bat. Anyone who’s seen the film gets it – even if Porto di Mare ain’t the Amazon and our artists are more interested in beats than opera.
But there’s a striking parallel between Huerequeque, the film’s genius who devised a way to transport the ship over a mountain, and our designated cook for the Symposium.
Enter our friend and longtime collaborator, . Channeling his inner Huerequeque, he whipped up a field kitchen in record time using nothing but spare parts and recycled materials. This not only allowed us to showcase the amazing cuisine of , but also fostered some serious community cooking vibes.
Word to the wise: This feat is best left to experienced designers.

10/06/2024

10/06/2024

Touching people’s emotions is the highest task and the true metaphysical activity for artists. We are still processing this immense and fantastic journey.
In the meantime, a huge thank you to everyone who made this Symposium possible.

pics by

02/06/2024

A Tapchan is a piece of furniture typical of Central Asia, where this kind of elevated structure is widely used for relaxing and chilling together. Once you have removed your shoes and placed them under the structure, you can sit on the tapchan cross-legged or semi-reclined for greater relaxation.
While the English word “lounge” is almost completely replacing “salotto” in spoken language, especially for public places, it’s important to remember that an Italian salotto is much more than just a space to relax and eat. It’s primarily a social setting, a symbolic place where you’d be invited, for example, for a Symposium.
Reflecting on this thematics during our research sessions, something emerged from the interplay of Marco Bocola’s travel memories and Giacomo Grippa’s and Chiara Biraghi taste for mixing raw materials with a digital imaginary.
The result is this oniric furniture, designed and built by Giacomo Grippa using concrete rain drains, natural pine square posts, coniferous plywood and FOAM/POLYURETHANE AKUSTIK C1 100X60X2 CM acoustic panels.

01/06/2024

With a humble but fierce approach, Fabrizio De Gaetano is the epitome of a “hidden treasure” within Milan’s arts and design scene. A key artisan behind impactful social art initiatives in Milan, like the recent mobile bread workshop for Madre Project and Terzo Paesaggio, he has, in recent years, honed his artistic practice by blending contemporary concerns for sustainability and social impact with traditional techniques like ironwork (ferro battuto).
Despite his poetry starting from pencil and paper illustrations, it wont’ be a surprise if the result of his work ends to be a large and ingenious iron-made furniture, with a bit of leggeresse that comes from clever design and fun mechanical solutions.