Arte poverain translation, poor art, was an art movement that emerged in Italy in the late 60s and early 70s. It influenced interior design and decoration by introducing rustic, old-fashioned furniture and decorations with classical lines. It's a style that has established itself in furniture and is highly regarded.
Style poor art
The arte povera style in furniture means less precious woods, classic colors of walnut or dark cherry, and simple, understated and useful design with straight lines and lots of drawers. The wood used is poplar, lime or alder, rarely cherry or ash. Arte povera furniture has been made in our country for more than 20 years and is still in great demand.
The arte povera finishing method is a way of "getting older" furniture. Use classic dark walnut, light and rustic or dark cherry. Use special patinas or glazes that produce the same effect, so-called glazes. The patinas are toned, not contrasting, so they don't stand out. The varnish film is not thick, but neither is it poor, and the gloss of the varnish is usually between 40 and 70 gloss.
The challenges of an arte povera finish
The main challenge of this style of furniture is white grinding. The wood used is a fast-growing species with a tendency to sag when sanded. Also, the stain is absorbed differently and stains may appear. Therefore it must be sanded very carefully using three different grits in succession. Although the recommended grain of the final paper is 180 grit, 220 grit paper can also be used. The most difficult species are poplar and anise. Poplar is often replaced by lime, which is very similar but much easier to sand. There is very little difference in color, with lime being more reddish.
Coloring is usually done with glazes, which are resin-containing baths that prevent deep absorption. This prevents staining. Sometimes necessary blank preparation of the wood so that the antique look of the furniture is also supported by dents or scratches.
The glaze is applied by spraying or wiping on excess, followed by wiping off the excess with a cloth. Wiping brings out the wood's pattern and evens out the color. The glaze also functions as a patina. By wiping, you push it into the holes made in the white preparation or it remains in the edges of door boards or in corners. It's one of the easiest ways to get patinated furniture.
If, however, large differences in color occur due to different absorption, it can be evened out by spraying on a thin coat of the same glaze. The quantity applied must be very small so as not to darken the color and decrease the adhesion of the varnish film. It does not even out if the coloration differences are small. Sometimes it is these very differences in color that give charm to arte povera furniture.
Arte povera furniture is suitable in the living room or bedroom, but also in the bathroom or kitchen. It also blends well with modern styles, as such a piece of furniture emphasizes modern lines and decoration.
I hope you find the above information useful. As always, additions are welcome. And if you have any questions or queries, please leave them below in the space provided. I will be sure to reply.
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Ok, I follow your articles with great interest.
"Arte Povera"? I was perplexed. Never in my life have I heard that term. All the more intriguing as I am an architect so I suppose I am up to date with all artistic trends.
Moreover, I work in the furniture industry for an Italian company that produces exactly this type of furniture that we classify as late eclecticism. I didn't push the point too much, but I certainly didn't imagine that this style had a name and was part of a trend.
Current that would make a career in Romania. Hmm, here I have some reservations. Anyway, thank you very much for the information.
You talked in a previous article about how you can recreate, imitate an existing finish. As a specialist in the field, please tell me how you can be creative in creating an original, distinct, unique finish. I know that finishing is extremely laborious. Are there any patrons of originality in the field?
What is the relationship between form, function and finish chosen for a piece of furniture or an entire collection?
Regarding the finish chosen for the MDF doors in your kitchen, the answer was simple and unequivocal: patina!
Hello,
Let's take it one step at a time. 🙂 Arte povera furniture has indeed been made for a long time in Romania and the term is much used. And I'm surprised you haven't heard it before, especially since you work in a factory. I have been working in the woodworking and furniture industry since 1988 and have known the term since then. When there were still big furniture factories (many gone in the meantime) they made 3-4 truckloads of furniture a week. The furniture was mainly made of poplar, sometimes combined with lime and the finish was simple and predominantly walnut shades (dark or light). The challenge with this finish was uniformity, because poplar absorbs differently and stains appeared.
You ask me about the originality of a finish and the relationship between form, function and finish. My opinion is that a finish should not be treated alone, separate from the whole. A finish is nothing without the furniture underneath it. One must always look at the whole. Indeed, as wood finishers, we can copy a new finish that appeared at who knows what fair, but we don't copy it to stay on a wooden window but to be all furniture. Or, if it doesn't match the model, we haven't copied it. I can give you an example. I once made a sample finish for a fair that was a great success. It was done on a small piece of furniture. One of the Italians I was working with asked me to make a bookcase with that finish immediately after the fair. It came out horrible, it just didn't fit at all. That's why I say everything has to be seen as a painting and everyone involved is important.
All the best!