Prolific artist and designer Ronan Bouroullec has contributed the Adagio ceramic module series to the tile collection of Italian manufacturer Mutina. A compelling series of reticular structures, Adagio allows for sculptural and scenic wall installations. 

Resembling a fabric’s weave, the three-dimensional ceramic modules are applied piece by piece in a manner similar to a sophisticated interlocking game. Named for musical tempos and the slowness of the gesture, Adagio can be used to compose unique artistic displays. 

Recently on display during the Résonance exhibition that explored the life and work of Ronan Bouroullec at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Adagio is now a part of the museum’s permanent collection. The Adagio system of ceramic modules steps away from the purely functional purpose of tiles and leans into architectural elegance, bringing an ability to give life to a near-endless range of configurations. 

The Adagio series is available in a palette of five glossy colours: Bianco (white), Grigio (grey), Rosso (red), Blu (blue) and Verde (green). The individual yet complementary hues can be used singularly or in five combinations of two colours – Grigio and Blu, Grigio and Bianco, Grigio and Verde, Rosso and Blu and Rosso and Verde. 

Capable of being applied in two layout configurations, Ronan Bouroullec’s Adagio ceramic modules instil an interior with a captivity character. The Closed Layout allows for the modules to be installed within a well-defined regular perimeter, while the creative and free Open Layout gives the illusion of expanding across a wall in an irregular manner without a defined shape. 

The modules in Adagio from Mutina have a glazed double-fired white body that is hand-finished with super-shiny enamels using a technique that completely covers all vertical sides for a uniform appearance.