The Artist
Based in Milan, Vincenzo De Cotiis (b. 1958, Italy) is an artist and architect whose practice moves between sculpture, architecture and functional art. His work explores the relationship between space, time and matter, bringing together archaic references and futuristic visions within a distinctly contemporary language.
Trained in architecture, De Cotiis approaches each work through a rigorous understanding of form, proportion and space. Rather than considering function as a defining category, he treats it as one possible dimension of the work: his functional pieces are conceived as autonomous sculptures, in which use, material and form coexist without hierarchy.
At the core of De Cotiis’ practice is an investigation into matter and its capacity for transformation. Materials are never treated as neutral surfaces, but as carriers of time, memory and previous existence. Through processes of fragmentation, layering, oxidation and reconstruction, De Cotiis allows traces of erosion and imperfection to remain visible, transforming them into an integral part of the work. Precious and recovered materials coexist, dissolving conventional hierarchies of value and suggesting that matter can continually acquire new identities.
This tension between permanence and transformation, fragility and resistance, the archaic and the futuristic runs throughout his practice. His works inhabit an ambiguous territory between sculpture and function, challenging conventional distinctions between art, architecture and design.
In 2021, De Cotiis received the ELLE Deco International Design Award for Best Interior Designer of the Year and has been featured for many years in Architectural Digest’s annual AD100 list of the world’s leading architects and designers. His practice has also been the subject of two major monographs published by Rizzoli: Vincenzo De Cotiis: Works (2019), by Anne Bony, Tom Delavan and Joseph Grima, an in-depth exploration of his artistic language and refined material vocabulary; and Vincenzo De Cotiis: Interiors (2023), by Sarah Medford and Adrian Madlener, the first comprehensive volume devoted to his architectural interiors, bringing together more than a decade of projects by his atelier.
De Cotiis’ work has been exhibited internationally, including at Museo Franz Mayer in Mexico City, Ca’ d’Oro in Venice, and Powerlong Art Museum in Shanghai. His work is also held in the permanent collection of the FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam.
Trained in architecture, De Cotiis approaches each work through a rigorous understanding of form, proportion and space. Rather than considering function as a defining category, he treats it as one possible dimension of the work: his functional pieces are conceived as autonomous sculptures, in which use, material and form coexist without hierarchy.
At the core of De Cotiis’ practice is an investigation into matter and its capacity for transformation. Materials are never treated as neutral surfaces, but as carriers of time, memory and previous existence. Through processes of fragmentation, layering, oxidation and reconstruction, De Cotiis allows traces of erosion and imperfection to remain visible, transforming them into an integral part of the work. Precious and recovered materials coexist, dissolving conventional hierarchies of value and suggesting that matter can continually acquire new identities.
This tension between permanence and transformation, fragility and resistance, the archaic and the futuristic runs throughout his practice. His works inhabit an ambiguous territory between sculpture and function, challenging conventional distinctions between art, architecture and design.
In 2021, De Cotiis received the ELLE Deco International Design Award for Best Interior Designer of the Year and has been featured for many years in Architectural Digest’s annual AD100 list of the world’s leading architects and designers. His practice has also been the subject of two major monographs published by Rizzoli: Vincenzo De Cotiis: Works (2019), by Anne Bony, Tom Delavan and Joseph Grima, an in-depth exploration of his artistic language and refined material vocabulary; and Vincenzo De Cotiis: Interiors (2023), by Sarah Medford and Adrian Madlener, the first comprehensive volume devoted to his architectural interiors, bringing together more than a decade of projects by his atelier.
De Cotiis’ work has been exhibited internationally, including at Museo Franz Mayer in Mexico City, Ca’ d’Oro in Venice, and Powerlong Art Museum in Shanghai. His work is also held in the permanent collection of the FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam.
The Architect
Vincenzo De Cotiis studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and founded his studio VINCENZO DE COTIIS ARCHITECTS in Milan where he lives and works.
His work represents a winding path that often doubles back upon itself, one fuelled by parallelisms of space and time, cultural layerings and quantum leaps. A process imperceptible to reason and intellect, yet manifested through the materiality of his countless works.
His work represents a winding path that often doubles back upon itself, one fuelled by parallelisms of space and time, cultural layerings and quantum leaps. A process imperceptible to reason and intellect, yet manifested through the materiality of his countless works.
There is nothing other than the perpetual and incessant uncovering of things of the past to filter them through the lens of contemporaneity. After all, no material or drawing is truly ancient because everything is always an expression of the present. — Vincenzo De Cotiis