The revolution of ceramics

Mutina derives from the natural need to urge top designers to bring their ideas, for the first time, to the world of ceramic covering materials. Moreover, Mutina is an innovative and creative initiative of like-minded, world-renowned professionals with distinctive identities, yet similar convictions.

The brand offers ceramic collections that can be used in transversal ways to create original private and public interiors. Their commitment for top-notch quality and art brought a myriad of immaculate collections and collaborations to life in just a little over 15 years in order to dismantle the boundaries of expression for designers and decorators. This fall, you can find Mutina at S/ALON BUDAPEST, courtesy of our long-term partner, POINT BUDAPEST. Read on and draw inspiration from one of the torchbearers of ceramic solutions with our interview with Massimo Orsini, CEO of Mutina!

Mutina is a design project that sprang from a friendship and a sense of mutual respect between renowned professionals. Who are they and why did they decide to co-create a new brand?

The best adventures, or at least the successful ones, are the result of circumstances: the end of a story is the beginning of another. So it was for Mutina, which, in 2006, embarked on a new path.

Mutina is a design project developed by a heterogenous team that shares the same unique vision. The collaboration with Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Konstantin Grcic, Hella Jongerius, Laboratorio Avallone, OEO Studio, Raw Edges, Inga Sempé, Patricia Urquiola and Tokujin Yoshioka sprang from a friendship with the aim of challenging the rules of ceramics in terms of not only scale, texture and composition, but of creativity and experimentation.

How would you summarize the manifesto of Mutina?

Mutina focuses on ceramic coverings. What are the main features and characteristics of this material?

Thirty years of history in the production of ceramics were swept by a wind of change that led the company to choose a different course focusing on exclusive designs, a tailor-made production that combines technology with hand-crafted details, challenging experimentations that transcend the limits of the materials, and indispensable research for innovation to ensure a high-quality product.

This new course ties in with a new way of looking at the role of ceramics, which are not considered just floor or wall coverings anymore, but have become an integral part of the interior design of a home. It is a concept shared by the designers working at Mutina and appealing to those who choose Mutina.

What other products and solutions does Mutina offer to designers, architects and decorators?

We offer 360° solutions! Ceramic wall coverings especially for indoors but also for outdoors, paints with our PAINTS collection, designed to match our ceramic wall coverings, a collection of wood and metal elements and a selection of functional and versatile furnishing accessories with ACCENTS, our 3D elements with which you can create architectural and decorative structures, and finally the EDITIONS collections of artistic ceramic objects, unique and timeless decorative elements.

Mutina’s This Is Not a Prize is an innovative format aimed at supporting and promoting the work of emerging artists. Could you tell us more about the recognition?

This Is Not a Prize (the natural evolution of Mutina for Art) is a prize awarded annually to support an international artist. The award offered by Mutina is not a simple prize, but marks the beginning of a relationship between the company and the selected artist, which can develop differently each time, according to the specific needs of the individual artist. This Is Not a Prize is in effect a commitment the brand makes to accompany and support a future project of the artist - an exhibition, a publication, or the production of a new work of art.

This year’s edition was won by artist Shirana Shahbazi. The artist’s photographs are intriguing, ambiguous and challenging of the space they are interacting with. All subjects, rigorously captured with an analogue technique, confront contemporary imageries and the notions of reality and illusion.

Also this year, DIN by Konstantin Grcic won the EDIDA 2022 award in the Floor Covering category. Congratulations! What should we know about DIN and the designer behind the celebrated collection?

DIN establishes a new interpretation of the modern mosaic. The collection has in fact been conceived according to a specific modular logic, which allows you to play with the elements, offering endless possibilities of application. It features 4 elements declined in a range of 8 colors and 2 finishes, matt and glossy, for a total of 64 elements.

Combining different formats, textures and colors guarantees not only an incredible creative potential, but also the possibility of adapting the laying pattern to the specific dimensions of floors and walls. Another special feature of this collection is its development into three-dimensionality: offering a range of corner and profile elements that allow for innovative architectural solutions and furnishing accessories.

Your new venue - designed by OEO Studio -, Casa Mutina Modena is the new series of residences for guests and Mutina staff, but not only. Please, tell us more about the new location!

Casa Mutina Modena stands in the heart of Modena’s historic city center and is the first and highest tangible expression of the Interiors project.

The new space comes to life through a mix of colors, textures and materials, showing how all Mutina collections can be used in a cross way. In addition, it constitutes a residence designed to welcome guests and collaborators who come to visit the company from afar.

What are the key directions Mutina is expected to take in 2022 in regards to product releases, collaborations or solutions?

During the Milan Design Week in June we presented PAESAGGI, the new collection of artistic objects designed by Nathalie Du Pasquier and produced in collaboration with Bitossi Ceramiche. The new collection is part of the Mutina Editions project, containing ceramic objects that are entirely handmade and exclusively made in Italy, according to traditional craftsmanship. At CERSAIE, we will present surfaces designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and Vincent Van Duysen, and other Editions collections, including one designed by Patricia Urquiola.

What are you planning to bring to S/ALON BUDAPEST this autumn?

This year we will bring the last two new additions to our 3D elements catalog: HIVES designed by Konstatint Grcic and PUNTO designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Explore the new era of ceramic coverings and objects at S/ALON BUDAPEST between 23-25 September - look for the outstanding representation of Mutina in the interior of POINT BUDAPEST at the Budapest Arena! Get your tickets in advance here, and take the pulse of interior design on our Facebook and Instagram page!