Family Picture
Excerpt from Ways of Sitting, Emily King 2003
‘Martino developed his interest in the psycho-social aspects of furniture design during his years at the Royal College. It was here that he discovered his love of corners and began to probe the multiple emotions provoked by the single right-angled boundary. Beyond their geometric definitions, corners are places to feel safe and at peace, they are places to dwell on private thoughts and memories. They can also be claustrophobic or isolating. Or, more practically speaking, they can be dusty and dirty. Conventional interior designers are afraid of corners. They draw furniture away from the extremes of the room and cluster it, like guests at a cocktail party, at its centre. By pushing back toward the room’s edges, Martino seeks out social interaction that is less polite, but more compelling.’
