I was born in Fano, and I’ve always lived here.
MAGAZINE · INTERVIEW
Samuel Costantini
Samuel Costantini (b. 1979) is an Italian designer and artist based in Fano, in the Marche region, whose practice explores the relationship between nature, material transformation, and sculptural form. Inspired by the surrounding landscape from an early age, he developed a lasting fascination with organic structures, geological textures, and the expressive qualities of natural materials.
In 2019, Costantini founded Dal Furlo, a studio inspired by the Gola del Furlo Nature Reserve, where he creates collectible furniture and sculptural objects in copper, bronze, and brass. Combining traditional metalworking techniques with experimental processes, he often transforms reclaimed materials through the unpredictable action of fire, producing unique works that embody a dialogue between craftsmanship, landscape, and time.
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Interview
Where were you born and where are you from?
What is your first memory connected to the art world?
I live not too far from Urbino, the birthplace of Raffaello Sanzio. Since childhood, I was attracted to the painter and his history.
Have you always worked in the art/design field?
At the end of the school year, I started working in my father’s company, where I make metal furniture for important designers and luxury brands.
What led you to design creation?
After years of bringing to life the ideas of others, I felt the need to realise my own.
How would you describe your creative process and its influences?
For 20 years after my birth, I lived in the countryside. I am an only child, so I spent a lot of time alone discovering what was in nature. All this remained in my heart. I like to observe nature in all its details, and I try to create the detail that gave me an emotion. I am not interested in recreating a copy of the object, but in the sensation I felt when I saw it.
Could you describe a typical day of your work?
It is actually quite normal. I look for inspiration for something new, then in the workshop the hands begin to work to create new ideas or pieces already made, I immerse myself in the creation of the piece until late with the infinite curiosity to see the final result.
Why did you choose the specific materials you work with?
The five natural elements are the basis of everything: earth, wood, fire, metal, and water. Metal is a material that lends itself to being worked and has been used for human-made objects since ancient times. Copper and bronze artefacts have been fundamental to civilizations throughout history, and over time, humanity has developed many manufacturing techniques. I also try to use recycled materials, and metal is particularly well suited to recycling.
What are the technical particularities of your creations?
As I said, I think the five elements are the basis of the natural world. The earth generates metal, and fire commands it. I work a lot by modeling metal with fire, not just mold casting. I especially love working with the flame on metal, creating the shapes that the fire orders.
What advice could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works?
I believe that my experience is not so important as to be able to give advice, but if there is something right that I have done so far, it is to create what I want without being influenced by any other people’s motivation.
If your works had to belong to a design movement, how would you define it?
Organic design.
What contemporary designers do you appreciate?
Carlo Scarpa.
What designers and artists have influenced you?
Frank Lloyd Wright. The concepts behind his creations are in perfect harmony with my thoughts: The architectural design should create a harmony between man and nature, build a new system in balance between the built environment and the natural environment through the integration of the various man-made artificial elements (constructions, furnishings, etc.) and the natural environmental surroundings of the site. One of his thoughts in particular gave inspiration to my first ideas: Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use.
What contemporary artists, in any kind of art, have you been inspired by?
Oliviero Toscani.
If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be?
Tactile.
Is there anything you would like to add?
I struggle to consider myself an artist or designer. These categories belong to much more important characters.
I am actually an artisan who thinks and tries to transmit thought through his hands. Curiosity drives me to take new paths and new experiments and to try to become a craftsman/artist.
“Curiosity drives me to take new paths and new experiments.”
The Questionnaire
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Happiness is in the freedom to be able to use all the time available
What is your greatest fear?
Lose autonomy
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
The resentment
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Not knowing how to listen
Which living person do you most admire?
Ennio Morricone
What is your greatest extravagance?
Many people consider me strange but in my quirks I see only my normalcy
What is your current state of mind?
Locked up
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
When you diminish a virtue perhaps it is not a virtue
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Reliability
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Acuteness
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Why?
Which talent would you most like to have?
Being a good musician
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Probably nothing. I am a person who knows how to settle
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My family
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
The wind
Where would you most like to live?
On a hill, so I could be the fool on the hill of the Beatles song
What is your most treasured possession?
A research with photos, documents and stories of everyday life on the genealogy of the family since 1590
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Ostentation
What is your favorite occupation?
Do my work and listening rock music
What is your most marked characteristic?
Independance
What do you most value in your friends?
Be there when needed
Who are your favorite writers?
Umberto Eco
Who is your hero of fiction?
Thor
Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Galileo Galilei
Who are your heroes in real life?
My parents
What are your favorite names?
Lulu , Marlen
What is it that you most dislike?
Lies
What is your greatest regret?
Not always having listened to my thoughts
How would you like to die?
Free from society
What is your motto?
Solve it
“I like to observe nature in all its details, and I try to create the detail that gave me an emotion.”
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