HEAVY RETICELLO | A solo show of LS GOMMA

Max Radford Gallery is happy to present “HEAVY RETICELLO” - a solo show of a Paris based designer LS GOMMA in the courtyard and premises of Palazzo Contarini della Porta di Ferro - Castello MCD during Venice Biennale 2025 Pre-opening. Showing a series of PU Rubber and metal mesh seating and lighting from the XR Mesh series. Expect to see a family of XR chairs done in new colours as well as the XR bench and a new XR lights that LS Gomma will make specifically for the show.

Rooted in materiality and process research, LS Gomma’s practice follows a unique methodology of craftsmanship, working primarily with polyurethane rubber and metal mesh. Fabricating everything by hand in his studio in Paris, the practice extends into a material lab, exploring the capability of the mate- riality. Each handcrafted rubber panel becomes a spatial painting, which stands at the core of Gomma’s design practice.

The title “HEAVY RETICELLO” draws a conceptual bridge between the intricate historical technique of reticello and LS Gomma’s materially intensive, hand-crafted design practice. Traditionally associated with delicate lacework or glassblowing, reticello is defined by its grid-like, geometric patterns—an aes- thetic echoed in Gomma’s practice. By working with industrial materials like polyurethane rubber and metal mesh, Gomma reinterprets the ornamental precision of reticello through a contemporary, sculp- tural lens. His chairs, bench and lights, displayed at the show, embrace a similar lattice-like complexity, suggesting a heavy, tactile version of the once ethereal technique. In this way, “HEAVY RETICELLO” becomes both homage and evolution—translating historical craftsmanship into a bold material language rooted in experimentation and physicality.