Venny Small Central Table by Matteo Cibic for JCP Universe

Matteo Cibic was born in Parma, Italy in 1983. He studied art and design at the Kent Institute of Art and Design (KIAD) in Canterbury, UK earning his BTEC diploma in 2001. He went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree from the Politecnico di Milano School of Design in 2004, and studied at Fabrica in Treviso, Italy in 2006.

Having interned at Studio Camuffo, Venice in 2002 and the Cibic Workshop (with his uncle, noted designer Aldo Cibic) in Milan in 2005, he later worked at April design studio, also in Milan, in 2008 and, in 2009, founded 10A, a tailor workshop that produces men’s trousers and eclectic formal outfits. He had already established his own branding and design studio in 2006 in Milan; in 2009 the studio moved to Vicenza; in 2011 to Milan; and in 2014 back to Vicenza. The studio focuses on product design and creative direction for brands such as Beck’s, Benetton Group (Fabrica), Calligaris, Nespresso, Paola C., Thun, and Zona Tortona, among others.

Cibic’s designs are driven by an experimental approach, incorporating varied materials and production techniques. Notable projects to date include Domsai, a desk terrarium (2008), and the Uzito Collection (2014), a series of hand-blown glass cloches produced in collaboration with Secondome Gallery in Rome.

His work has been included in several temporary and permanent exhibitions worldwide at institutions such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Shanghai Glass Museum, and the Triennale Design Museum, Milan.

JCP Universe is the brainchild of Italian architect Livio Ballabio and was born out of a radical think tank held in Milan in 2015. Ballabio studied at the Politecnico di Milano under Raffaella Crespi, graduating with a degree in Industrial Design. The artistic direction of JCP Universe is in the hands of hybrid design studio CTRLZAK, led by Italian-Greek artist-designers Katia Meneghini and Thanos Zakopoulos. Other designers contributing to the JCP universe include Richard Hutten, Sam Baron, Alessandro Zambelli, Emanuele Magini, Nanda Vigo and Matteo Cibic.

JCP Universe is an eclectic brand that aims to change the design status quo through a wide-ranging practice and its fusion of art and design. The brand not only produces furniture and other design objects but is engaged in shaping culture more broadly - staging performance events at the CRT Milano Teatro dell’Arte as part of the Milan Triennale, as well as producing art videos and designing printed artworks. Pieces like the KRYPTAL Table Lamp (2017), which bring together a rough lava stone base with matte brass and glass fittings; the ANTIVOL Side Table (2017), which also incorporates raw lava stone; or some of the recent printed works by Susami Creative for JCP Universe capture the brand’s penchant for a kind of apocalyptic chic aesthetic that pushes the futuristic and primordial so far that they fold back around and collide. The RONE Floor Lamp (2017) by Richard Hutten for JCP Universe riffs off retro robots, giving them a humorously minimal, forward-looking aspect, while even the PERFLECT Display Cabinet (2017) by Sam Baron for JCP reiterates the futuristic vibe, albeit in a more restrained variant.

Based outside of Milan, JCP Universe’s mission is to speculate on and, indeed, to create the future of design. This does not mean abandoning the traditional quality standards of the region, though, and most of JCP Universe’s collection is produced with expert artisans in northern Italy. The brand works predominantly with private clients, but its work was recently honored when it was shortlisted for the Milan Design Award for JCP Universe’s Ten Secret Treasures exhibition during the Fuorisalone 2016.