Studio Visit: Martino Gamper, Hackney

Written by Murray Crane

I spent a dreary London Saturday with Martino at his Hackney studio during my recent trip. The weather was bleak, but the studio had its own warmth – lamps glowing, objects in various states of progress, fabrications and prototypes spread across almost every surface. It is one of those spaces that immediately tells you everything you need to know about the person who works there. Off-cuts and half-resolved forms sat beside colour tests and samples, while tools and kitchenware hung together as if order was less important than availability.

We had lunch there in the middle of it all. Martino cooked, and he had recently returned from Italy with some regional cheeses that gave the meal an easy, familiar feel. Our connection is fairly recent – we were introduced through Michael Lett during our 2024 store renovation – even though I have long been a fan of his work. Conversation moved naturally from materials to process to travel, helped along by the setting. A chaotic workspace, but a purposeful one. You get the sense that ideas don’t wait their turn here.

He was packing for his March show and preparing for a New Zealand summer, yet still took the time to pull out new fabrications and prototypes and talk through the thinking behind them. They look great. There is continuity, but also subtle shifts – small refinements from someone who keeps moving.

We also spoke at length about his solo exhibition at Objectspace next year. It will be his first significant presentation in New Zealand for some time and feels well timed – a chance to bring this next chapter of his practice into sharper focus. The early fabrications and prototypes I saw in the studio hinted at the direction he is taking: familiar lines, but with a clearer sense of proportion and an ease that comes from long experience. Objectspace has always been a good home for work that sits between design, craft and sculpture, and Martino occupies that territory naturally. Seeing the beginnings of the exhibition in this raw, working state made the prospect of the final show feel all the more compelling.

For me, it was good to see the work in its early form, share a simple lunch, and spend a few hours with someone fully absorbed in what they do. A grey London day made better by good company and the pleasure of seeing things being worked out in real time.