Cristina Celestino's work stands out for its link to the past and, even more, for its brave foray into the future. An avowed student and collector of "Italian design masterpieces," she possesses the ability to simultaneously acknowledge, pay homage to, and re-contextualize historical work.

1. Opanca Sofa for Sergio Rossi

This penchant for playing with traditional forms pervades her work. The Giardino all'Italiana collection for Fornace Brioni, for instance, hearkens back to cotto, the rough, hand-made terra cotta tiles fairly ubiquitous in old Italian buildings, homes, and churches. Celestino's take captures the rusticity of the material and the form while taking its organicism even further. Giardino strives to recapitulate nature-observing "rows of trees, meadows, lakes and sculptures, to came up with a wall covering for the home that is similar to a landscape."

2. Giardino all'Italiana for Fornace Brioni

The Caryllon Table is another piece inspired by a time-worn form. The frame of the table is an elegant bent wood structure while the top is a new take on straw marquetry, a technique in which strips of straw are tightly woven then dyed. With Caryllon, Celestino has stitched these together in a geometric pattern of complementary shades. The interplay of light and dark, rectilinear and triangular, creates a vivid aesthetic that transcends two dimensions-an alluring optical illusion to challenge our perspective and engage our textural sensibilities.

3. Caryllon Table for Gebruder Thonet Vienna

No mention of Celestino would be complete without acknowledging her contributions to wall art. The Assemblage Collection for LONDONART, like the Caryllon Table, plays with pattern to disrupt the visual plane. The design resembles intricate strands–of human hair, or horsehair, or thick woven cable–one wound around the next and then wound around each other in a geometric tour de force akin to an agglomeration of diamonds or the faceted folds of a heavy velvet theater curtain.

4. Assemblage Collection for LONDONART

Celestino also designs under her own brand, Attico Design. Notable pieces include the Nappa, a suspension lamp in mouth-blown borosilicate glass with a transparent shade and bold, curvaceous silhouette; and Ecstasy, a combination dressing table, wall screen, and seat in copper, oak, and upholstery that's an auspicious update of the classic Art Deco boudoir.

5. Nappa Pendant Lamp for Attico Design

6. Ecstasy for Attico Design

Celestino also designs fashion-forward accessories that are every bit as bold as her furniture. Her collection of Atomizers for Seletti-with an aspect equal parts Steampunk and Alice in Wonderland-take away the proverbial breath, provoking excitatory gasps equally enticing as the perfume therein. Curators of the Triennale Museum of Milan agree, as these now constitute part of the permanent collection.

7. Atomizers for Seletti

Cristina Celestino has created special commissions for Fendi, Nilufar, Sergio Rossi, Tonelli Design, Torremato, and BottegaNove. In 2017, she won the ELLE DECO International Design Awards price for "Plumage," a wall covering project for BottegaNove. See Cristina Celestino for further exploration.