Sculptural Design
2017 -2026
Functional works shaped by sculptural presence, material tension, and inner charge.
Otávio Motta’s sculptural design emerges from the same internal field that informs his artistic practice. These works are not conceived as decorative objects or standard furniture pieces, but as functional presences — bodies in space where matter, structure, light, and gesture hold symbolic weight.
Often suspended between beauty and instability, refinement and strangeness, each piece carries a sense of tension from within. Function becomes a point of entry, while material, form, and silence open the work toward ritual, memory, and presence.
Between object and artwork, use and contemplation, these pieces expand the language of Sensitive Matter into the realm of collectible design.
Selected Works
Sideboard 1974
2017
Sculptural console
Brazilian hardwood
Sideboard 1974 marks an early moment in Otávio Motta’s authorial design trajectory. Created in 2017, the piece already reveals the tension between function, asymmetry, material weight, and sculptural presence that would later become central to his practice.
More than a functional object, it stands as a body in space — shaped by gesture, balance, and material memory.
Banco Solar
2017–2026
Sculptural bench-light
Reclaimed Brazilian hardwoods, handcrafted shade,
light structure
Banco Solar is one of Otávio Motta’s foundational sculptural design works. Shaped entirely by hand, the piece brings together seating, light, structure, and material memory.
In 2026, the work was presented in the context of Philia & Kids III — Petrópolis, a philanthropic initiative by Galerie Philia.
Origô
2025 - 2026
Sculptural lighting work
Mineral base, metal, glass, light
Origô marks a new phase in Otávio Motta’s sculptural design practice. Conceived from the encounter between mineral density and luminous suspension, the work approaches light not as ornament, but as an internal force emerging from matter.
Its form carries the tension between weight and elevation, opacity and glow, grounding and transcendence.
Abyss
2026
Cabinet / functional sculpture
Polished cast aluminum alloy, embedded crystal
Abyss investigates depth, reflection, and inner luminosity through the language of functional sculpture. Conceived as a cabinet, the work approaches storage not as utility alone, but as an interior field — a space where polished metal and crystal create tension between surface, light, and hidden presence.
Its form carries the contrast between opacity and reflection, containment and revelation, function and mystery.
Kage
2026
Sculptural lighting work
Stone, metal, glass, light
Kage investigates the relationship between shadow, density, and illumination. Conceived as a sculptural lighting work, the piece treats light not as surface or ornament, but as a quiet force emerging from within matter.
Its presence is built through contrast: opacity and glow, weight and suspension, silence and internal vibration.
Axis Solis
2026
Sculptural lighting work
Crystal glass, steel, brass, light
Axis Solis investigates balance, verticality, and luminous tension. The work approaches light as a point of alignment between weight, structure, and suspension — a silent axis where material force and luminous presence meet.
Axis Major
2026
Sculptural lighting work
Crystal, brass, stone, light
Axis Major expands the Axis series through vertical presence and luminous alignment. The work investigates how crystal, brass, stone, and light converge into a single line of tension between balance, force, and suspension.
Axis Minor
2026
Sculptural lighting work
Crystal, brass, stone, light
Axis Minor condenses the language of the Axis series into a more intimate scale. The work explores light as a subtle point of alignment between crystal, brass, stone, and spatial presence.
Its reduced form preserves the same tension between weight, balance, and luminous force.
Acantha
2026
Sculptural object
Brass, natural stone
Acantha is conceived as an authorial object shaped by tension, protection, and symbolic force. Its form suggests a body between ornament and relic, where material presence carries both delicacy and resistance.
The piece expands Otávio Motta’s sculptural design language into a more intimate scale, preserving the same investigation into matter, gesture, and presence.
Ousia
2026
Sculptural table / functional sculpture
Polished cast aluminum alloy, Brazilian citrine
Ousia investigates essence, density, and inner force through the language of functional sculpture. Conceived as a sculptural table, the work approaches matter as a body marked by openings, vortices, and luminous mineral presence.
Its polished aluminum surface and citrine-filled cavities create a tension between weight and radiance, opacity and revelation, structure and origin.
Ímpeto
2026
Sculptural coat rack / functional sculpture
Hematite, hand-worked polished brass, carved wood, natural rope
Ímpeto is born from the tension between weight and impulse.
A raw block of hematite anchors the work to the ground, while a hand-worked brass rod rises in an arched gesture, marked by force, friction and movement. At the opposite end, carved wood fragments bound by natural rope contain the descending metal, evoking dead organic matter restraining an impulse of life.
Conceived as a functional sculpture, the piece operates as a coat rack through discreet concavities integrated into the brass. Its function remains almost hidden, absorbed into the body of the work.
Between mineral weight, organic restraint and suspended movement, Ímpeto becomes a gesture held in tension.
Modulatio
2026
Functional sculptural armchair
Formed, welded and partially cast brass, controlled verdigris patina and selective polishing
Unique piece, in development
Modulatio brings two states of the same form into a single body. One half preserves the architectural clarity of a rectilinear armchair, with subtle references to Brazilian modernist furniture; the other is laterally compressed, making a shift in energy physically visible.
Derived from the Latin modulatio, the title evokes measure, rhythm and variation. Fully functional, the work occupies the threshold between furniture and sculpture.
Concept visualisation of a work currently in development.