Matteo Ciffo - Reliqua - Nefertiti

- Contemporary sculpture by Matteo Ciffo (Italy - 1987). Title Reliqua - Nefertiti
- Year 2025. Edition no. 1/40 - Signed and authenticated by the artist, with certificate of authenticity
- Material: Cold fusion of marble and stone powders
- Excellent condition



RELIQUA Collection

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, that hides inside it a fragment of classical: a face, an anatomical detail, a presence suspended between ruin and sanctity.
The work configures itself as a symbolic and functional container, capable of welcoming what is not visible: memories, emotions, smells.

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, primordial and eternal, while surface erosion suggests the passage of years, the action of natural agents and the continuous transformation of matter.
The embedded classical fragment becomes a testimony, a residue of beauty that resists and re-emerges. At the borders between protected, hidden and trapped

Reliqua is conceived as an object hybrid between art and design:
- container of liquids essences or perfumes
- diffuser for environments with reeds
- symbolic custodian of personal memories
- decorative element with 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 nevertheless unique: color variations, imperfections and marks make every Reliqua unreproducible.










MATTEO CIFFO

Born in Biella in 1987, since 2007 I have developed a research focused on matter, on its transformation and on 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 simply 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 stems from observation and the desire to restore life to what has been crushed, abandoned or forgotten. Fragments and scraps, often coming from the work of other sculptors, become the original material for my works.
They are materials that already carry a history within them. I disassemble and reassemble them, generating forms that no longer belong to their previous state, but to a new condition. Each work emerges from a delicate balance between loss and rebirth, between memory and possibility, making visible the moment in which matter ceases to be what it was and becomes something else.

The path takes the form of a transformation that goes beyond traditional sculpture, approaching a nearly alchemical dimension. I use materials that have already lived, disassemble and reassemble them to generate new forms and identities. Each creation arises from a tension between destruction and regeneration, between loss and memory, making visible a continuous state of change.
The research engages with materials that embody a deep contradiction: apparently 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 gives way to fragility, and eternity manifests as a living and human experience. Matter is not subordinate, but becomes co-author, preserving on the surface the traces of gesture, process and its own evolution.

Self-taught, I have built my path through experimentation, observation and listening. The approach is not about control, but about accompanying the material in its transformation. The resulting shapes reflect how memory works: 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 profoundly contemporary and human dimension.