Graduated in Industrial Design at ISIA in Florence in 2013, Cosma (b. 1989, Grottaglie, Italy), then went on to develop a practice that incapsulates the meticulous research on material properties proper of design production while expanding the discourse on where the spectrum of design and that of art can be delineated. Frascina perfected a technical language that borrows from the artisanal tradition of his natal land Salento and its natural resources, whilst spotlighting how human intervention dissolves the territory from which it draws and how the territory may dissolve back. Calcarenite stone, marble and concrete are the dialoguing spectacle between the brutal force nature can exert on human frailty and the barbarity of man-made interference. The roughness and inherent unpredictability of Nature become the paradigm for inspiration and a methodological approach: that of a contemplative subjugation to temporality and its non-negotiable laws. The manifestation of time on natural resources is pivotal in Cosma’s practice: nothing is static, none of his creations are eternally one, they are caressed, shaped, plastered by time. Cosma, dismissing the current hyper-frenzied rate of cultural production, enjoys working at a slow pace in order to filter meaning and pureness in the abundance of stimuli brought about by the ubiquity of media content. He chases that dopamine input through handwork: sculpting, carving, sanding grant an illusionary abstraction from reality, a suspension from judgment. But that space of illusion or ideal indeed constitutes the platform to actively challenge crystallized notions of beauty and functionality, a locus informed by the historical canon yet devoid of suffocating frameworks. The design is frequently guided by the guts — an impromptu approach, and builds on mistakes and amendments with no fear. Recent exhibitions include Traslochi (2023) at Kunstschau, Lecce and Crack (2023) at comeforbreakfast, Milan, and a collaboration AYBAR gallery and Kelly Wearstler (2023).
