In 2012 Mariana decided to create ADORNO as a framework concept to encompass all kinds of activities meant for the creation of objects (tangible or not) with a common thread: beauty, as a process and as a result. The first ADORNO pieces are jewels and magnets that explain little stories, recycle materials and concepts, like the magnet set “Nuevas Vidas” (New lives).
In 2013, Alberto became a part of the project, this expand the framework of the creations and integrates the design and fabrication of Furniture and the concept of Sculptural Tableware, an activity that Alberto has been developing since 2008.
Together we explore our creative needs until transforming the ADORNO space into a skein of ideas, concepts, material analysis, textures, madness, passion, work, motley objects, where abstract and functional concepts of the creation of objects are constantly raised.
From ADORNO, we transform all kinds of objects into unique pieces with life of its own, numbered editions and custom objects that explore the interaction between functionality, beauty and respect for the materials. We work handcrafting, combining materials and techniques, recycling peculiar objects, reviewing traditional design concepts, reinventing uses, exploring a new functionality that includes emotional and conceptual aspects.
In ADORNO, we defend the “making” before the “producing”.
In a globalized world where we consume cold and lifeless objects, without joy, serial produce in chains that make life mechanic and boring, in ADORNO we believe and defend that there is no beauty if there is no love and joy in the creation, and that this is shown on the finished piece. We defend the appreciation of time in the execution of our artwork, we give ourselves time to reflect about the object, we let the material talk to us and mature the abstract and functional concepts of each piece, searching balance and dialog with the final user. We give ourselves time in the execution, the excellency in it, taking care of each process, even in those that can be imperceptible.
We claim the peculiarity of any material and the value that has by itself, we rescue materials discarded by a consumer society, by planned obsolescence, and we give them a second life. We rescue discarded woods, damned to the flames for being twisted and full of knots, imperfections that we consider beautiful, that we encourage and respect as much as possible, in the end, these imperfections are the result of time, created by nature in most of the cases.
ADORNO is jewellery, sculpture, conceptual tableware, photography, design, furniture, lamps…
Mariana González Frola
I was born in Buenos Aires, cosmopolitan and monumental city with 3 million inhabitants already at that time, and I spent my adolescence in La Pampa, with its infinite skies and horizontal lines. Since I was 20 years old, I’ve lived in Spain, almost all the time in Barcelona.
Until I was 14 years old, I only listened to classical music, and I don’t know where my passion and compromise with beauty comes from, but I remember it being always present.
My memories from my childhood are related to art (at school, at extracurricular activities, at home…). Rainy afternoons were meant for doing ceramics or collages or painting… Or dismantling mechanical toys to see how they were inside (sometimes I was able to assemble them back and make them work, in other cases I wasn’t, but I didn’t care, the important part were the discoveries I made… And the ones I still make with every thing I dismantle).
I spent an important part of my life studying: Image and Sound at the Complutense University of Madrid, Technical Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Jewellery at the Escuela del Gremio de Joyeros de Madrid, I guess I did it to catch momentum to do what I do now.
I don’t agree with the concept of “useful life” that the society assigns to a lot of objects. Although an object can’t fulfil its original function, my experience tells me that it can always provide something else, in most of the cases by dismantling it and making the most of its parts to build other objects. My “cajitas” (small boxes) are born from here: poetic landscapes that explain snapshots stories that connect with our memories and/or wishes.
I shoot lines and movement… And every object we create at ADORNO. I do stop-motion animations where I apply my (peculiar) sense of humour.
I gave full rein to my fascination for the light and created the jewellery line in methacrylate “Llum” (Light). And I decided to pay tribute to the elements of nature, and I am already preparing a collection in wood (Tierra/Earth) and another one in blown glass (Aire/Air).
The materials are a vehicle to express myself, so I don’t only compromise with just one. How could I choose between methacrylate, wood, glass, iron, bioplastic, silver…?
I enjoy watching how Alberto and I make the project ADORNO grow every day. I feel lucky for working with my passion and having the feeling of being able to undertake any project that excites me.
Alberto Martínez García (Euki)
I was born in Bilbao and grew up in Llodio, when they still were industrial cities and you could breathe the iron oxide in the air spit by the steelworks.
With artistic concerns since childhood, I participated in drawing, painting and ceramics groups, activities that I combined with hikes in the mountain. This cocktail of concerns, together with a harsh environment, set the concept of my first pieces and the forcefulness that they had.
After studying Industrial Delineation, I guided my career to my passion and decided to begin studying a Bachelor of Arts in the University of the Basque Country, in Bilbao, completing the second cycle saddled between the University of Barcelona and the Faculty of Design and Environment of Leeds (England). I completed the third cycle and the postgraduate degree at the University of Barcelona.
I’ve been awarded with various sculpture and visual arts awards and with research grants by the Diputación Foral de Alava. I’ve got pieces in private as well as public collections. I’ve participated in collective exhibitions in Spain, Andorra, France, England, Dominican Republic and the United States of America. I’ve made various individual exhibits and projects around the Spanish State.
In 2008 my creative and conceptual needs led me to working in the world of gastronomy, offering chefs a concept of Sculptural Tableware for their creations.
Currently, along with Mariana Frola, we continue to move forward and explore this territory of “art democratization” through the Sculptural Tableware and the creation of the Furniture/Object with sculptural character.
Meanwhile, I keep on developing my personal work.
