In partnership with StoneX
Materiality, you might say, is the essence of art – a conduit for expression and meaning. Choices in physical matter are crucial to the impact of a creative work – texture, tone, weight and quality conveying narrative and delivering emotion. Material is the message.
This exploration of mind, media and matter, process and substance, is the theme for Wallpaper* and StoneX’s ‘Material Alchemists’ exhibition, running at the Triennale di Milano’s La Curva space during Milan Design Week 2025.
Wallpaper* ‘Material Alchemists’ exhibition in partnership with StoneX at Triennale di Milano
Wallpaper* ‘Material Alchemists’ exhibition in partnership with StoneX at Triennale di Milano
The event transforms the first floor of the Triennale into a showcase of emerging designers – talents hailing from Antwerp to Adelaide, Vancouver to Vietnam – each of them pushing the limits of a wide range of materials.
Michelle Jiaxin Huang’s ‘Eternal Recurrence Arrival’, 2022, steel
The notion of alchemic innovation runs through neolithic veins at StoneX, a purveyor and patron of the world’s rarest natural stone and marble. The India-based company is respectful of nature’s mastery and art in materials formed over countless years by natural forces, presented in their inherently beautiful, original state, shaped by human ingenuity. Its mission, to elevate the true value of stone and ‘create an imprint on time’, taps into the precision and expertise of craftspeople to create masterpieces.
Sourcing stones from revered quarries in Italy, Greece and elsewhere – in total more than 20 countries and more than 100 quarries across the globe – and refining them at the state-of-the-art StoneX Refinery in Kishangarh, Rajasthan, the company serves a global community of artists, architects and designers, in whose hands the materials become a timeless means of expression – whether in installations or high-end interiors.
Olorunfemi Adewuyi’s ‘Omi Series 2’ stool, 2024, timber and metal
Sheyang Li’s ‘Elemental Patchwork’ table lamp, 2024, aluminium
Now Wallpaper* has teamed up with StoneX as a global creative partner for the next three years, building on the brand’s desire to communicate the value of stone to a wider audience and tell stories through collaborations with pioneering creatives and innovative projects.
Next stop for the collaboration will be the launch of the Delhi Design District building in early 2026. This brand home and cultural hub features an exterior inspired by the Rosetta Stone – a famous fragment of an inscribed slab, or stele, from Ancient Egypt – but inside, visitors will be transported to an Italian quarry.
StoneX is scheduling immersive, multisensory art experiences, a series of dynamic installations inspired by Indian dance forms, and seven galleries inspired by human emotions.
With the Design District building set to boost Delhi’s credentials as a global design district, we’re looking forward to more material adventures from the StoneX and Wallpaper* partnership.
‘Material Alchemists’ is at the Curva space in the Triennale di Milano until 13 April 2025 and is open to the public
Steffany Tran’s ‘Re Cây’ lighting collection, 2024, dó paper and porcelain
The May 2025 issue of Wallpaper*, seen here with its limited edition cover, was on hand at the event’s opening
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