He is the only island artist present in the “Peripheral Design” section of the Fuorisalone which will be held from 15 to 21 April in Milan. The designer and sculptor from Sassari Genesio Pistidda presents his new work GUPU at the Milan Design Week 2024-ID.Exe , which reinterprets the cork dipper for water, commonly used and shared in the agro-pastoral societies of Sardinia.
GUPU is one of the many geosynonyms with which the dipper, vejone, abbajone, ajonedda is defined. Until a few decades ago this poor and ecological tool, obtained from the knots of oak bark, could still be found in springs, wells and water containers available to anyone who needed them.
The simple and popular shape, in the Sassari designer's idea, becomes an opportunity for re-elaboration through the reuse of recycled materials, such as cork paste, recovered from packaging modules and sound-absorbing panels. The transformation of the recovered material allows the artist to create and transfigure the bowls and dippers of ancient popular use, into very modern, ergonomic and portable forms, equally functional.
The fifty-year-old artist from Sassari is no stranger to the artistic transfigurations of tradition and the signs of Sardinia's history. Among the numerous creations worth mentioning are the collaboration with the international designers Tarshito – Nicola Strippoli, for the exhibitions held in New Delhi in India; the one with Giulio Iacchetti for the decorations with the signs of the Sardinian tradition of the " Moscardino" fork, destined for the 2019 Estetica del Food exhibition and the " Dea Fertilia " jug, produced in 2022, designed for the relaunch of the Fertilia area, which he has received awards and participated in national exhibitions.
