Matteo Ciffo - Reliqua - Apollo

- Contemporary sculpture by Matteo Ciffo (Italy - 1987). Title Reliqua - Apollo
- Year 2026. Edition no. 1/40 - Signed and authenticated by the artist, with a certificate of authenticity
- Material: Cold fusion of marble and stone powders
- Excellent condition


Collezione RELIQUA

Reliqua is a collection of sculptural objects that investigates the relationship between matter, memory, and essence. Each piece presents itself as an eroded monolith, marked by time, which guards inside it a fragment of classicism: a face, an anatomical detail, a presence suspended between ruin and sacredness. The work functions as a symbolic and functional container, capable of welcoming what is not visible: memories, emotions, scents.

The collection originates from the concept of relic: objects that traverse time, bearers of meaning and memory. The monolithic form recalls the archetype of stone, a primordial and eternal element, while surface erosion suggests the passage of years, the action of natural agents, and the ongoing transformation of matter. The embedded classical fragment becomes a testimony, a residue of beauty that resists and resurfaces. At the boundaries between protected, concealed, and trapped

Reliqua is conceived as a hybrid object between art and design:
- container of liquid essences or perfumes
- room diffuser with reeds
- symbolic custodian of personal memories
- decorative element with a strong tactile impact
Each function is secondary to the evocative value of the object, which invites an intimate and personal relationship.

Each piece, produced in 40 copies, is nonetheless unique: color variations, imperfections and marks make every Reliqua unrepeatable.











MATTEO CIFFO

Born in Biella in 1987, since 2007 I have developed research focused on matter, its transformation, and the memory it preserves. My work arises from a direct relationship with noble and complex materials such as marble and stone powders, natural pigments, Armenian earths, oxides, and metals. I do not consider them mere expressive tools, but living presences, bearers of time, history, and the possibility of rebirth.

Through a process I consider more ritual than sculptural: a rebirth of stone guided by my hand. The practice begins with observation and the desire to give life back to what has been shattered, abandoned, or forgotten. Fragments and scraps, often from the work of other sculptors, become the original matter for my works. These are materials that already carry a story within them. I break them down and reassemble them, generating forms that no longer belong to their previous state, but to a new condition. Each work emerges from a fragile balance between loss and rebirth, between memory and possibility, making visible the moment when matter ceases to be what it was and becomes something else.

The path takes the form of a transformation that transcends traditional sculpture, approaching an almost alchemical dimension. I use materials that have already lived, break them down and recombine them to generate new forms and identities. Each creation arises from a tension between destruction and regeneration, between loss and memory, revealing a state of continuous change.

The research engages with materials that embody a deep contradiction: seemingly eternal and indestructible, yet at the same time sensitive and vulnerable. What seems immutable reveals an unstable nature, capable of reacting, oxidizing, and transforming over time. This condition makes matter an active part of the work, involved in a constant dialogue with time and the environment.

Perfection yields to fragility, and eternity manifests as a living, human experience. Matter is not subordinate, but becomes a co-author, keeping on the surface traces of gesture, process, and its own evolution.

An autodidact, I built my path through experimentation, observation, and listening. The approach is not about control, but about guiding the material through its transformation. The resulting forms reflect the functioning of memory: structures in which fragments, traces, and absences coexist and regenerate.

This practice explores matter as a living archive. The sculptures emerge as presences suspended between ruin and rebirth, between permanence and transformation, returning to matter a deeply contemporary and human dimension.