Planks for the kitchen and table

Riccardo Monte

Art Room

26 April 2026 — 28 May 2026

‘Few objects need as little design as this one,’ writes forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort in her new column on Riccardo Monte’s handmade wooden serving boards. And yet, within this seemingly simple utensil, an entire world reveals itself: of wood, fire, texture and everyday rituals. Discover Monte’s masterful planks in this Art Room – from small and modest to long, dark and almost sculptural.

Lidewij Edelkoort

‘The effect is immediate and unavoidable: the ordinary plank sees the light and suddenly assumes a different position, now truly belonging to the kitchen. These planks take on a new role: for cracking nuts, arranging fruit, or composing a still life with red chicory and a pomegranate. How a plank acquires a soul, I think then – how lovely that even something so small can become so exciting.’

ABOUT THE ARTIST
In the Italian Alps, close to the Swiss border, architect and maker Riccardo Monte works from a studio-home shaped by wood, stone, fire and mountain light. After eight years as an architect in London, he returned to his native Ornavasso in search of a different rhythm. A period spent in a remote cabin without electricity brought him closer to nature, solitude and the values of a simpler life – an experience that continues to inform everything he makes.

Monte’s practice moves between architecture, furniture, homeware and small-scale objects. His work is sculptural, organic and elemental, often revealing the raw character of locally sourced materials through minimal intervention. Wood is carved, charred, softened or left to speak for itself; texture becomes memory, surface becomes story.

His exploration of timber charring began with the wooden posts that supported vines planted on the grounds of his home. Traditionally, charring is used to protect wood from insects and to make it last longer, but Monte was drawn equally to its visual, tactile and preserving qualities. As if painting with fire, he coaxes from the wood a silky surface and deep natural tones of black, purple and blue. The result is a textural depth that holds the warmth of a manual process.

For our Art Room, we selected a number of his wooden planks in a range of sizes and finishes, humble objects elevated through proportion, material and hand. Alongside them, we also show glimpses of his furniture, which shares the same quiet force – primitive and refined, functional and almost ritual.