Nature Transformed

Millions of years before they become works of art, Italian artist Alex Turco’s materials begin their story beneath the earth’s surface. Crystals become coffee tables. Agate becomes side tables. Marble, volcanic stone and minerals are transformed into one-of-a-kind pieces that merge sculpture with functional design, created through dedicated craftsmanship.

For Turco, every piece begins with a respect for the materials themselves. “There is certainly a profound connection with Mother Nature, my primary source of inspiration,” he says. “These are rock formations that bring a history spanning millions of years.” 

Long before he was creating collectible design, Turco found inspiration hunting for fossils with his father, photographing sunsets, and recreating skies with an airbrush. Growing up in a family of artists and photographers taught him to find beauty in the natural world, shaping the variety of techniques Turco applies to his work today. 

“The great fortune of having my father as a mentor literally opened up a world of countless perspectives and possibilities for me,” he says. “The search for natural materials to which I can give a second life is endless. I love hunting for things I can transform into art. I am drawn to the tactile quality of stones and the way they can be shaped and integrated into my work—whether it is a painting or a coffee table.”

His pieces use materials like volcanic stone, salt, sea sponges and minerals gathered from around the world. These natural elements are blended together through the use of epoxy resin, which allows Turco to preserve fragile natural materials, with each layer delivering depth, color and texture to the artwork.

Turco’s work has found a home everywhere from private residences across six continents to Christian Dior boutiques in Shanghai and Louis Vuitton showrooms in Paris, where architects challenged him to translate his artistic language into bespoke installations. His creations, which sit at the intersection of art and design, are conceived as functional artworks, where a segment of art is applied to design. Each piece is unique and is intended to be appreciated not only for its decorative value but also for its functionality.

That philosophy now has a permanent home in the United States. After opening his first gallery in Udine, Italy, Turco has expanded to Miami Beach for his U.S. debut, introducing his ONLY ONE design collection to stateside collectors. This collection of textured wall art, sculptures and collectible design objects presents pieces that are created once and never reproduced, reflecting the rarity of the natural materials from which they’re made.

Whether displayed as a painting, sculpture or functional piece of furniture, Turco’s hope is that every piece encourages people to see and interact with nature differently. Millions of years in the making, each piece carries the memory of the earth into the spaces collectors call home. Visit alexturco.com.