Sug_Hero - Metaforme, the exhibition at WiMU Museum in Barolo

by Cristina Morozzi 

The exhibition "Sug_Hero" showcases the life cycle of cork, from harvesting the bark to the creation of amazing designer furnishings. Read more on our magazine.

The exhibition "Sug_Hero - Metaforme. Le mille vite di uno straordinario dono della natura, il sughero" (Sug_Hero - Metaforms. The Thousand Lives of an Extraordinary Gift of Nature: Cork) is being held from May 22 to July 31 and tells all about this gift of nature at the WiMU Museum hosted at the Falletti Castle in Barolo, Piedmont in Italy.

This is the second exhibition promoted by Amorim Cork Italia – following the first one in Conegliano, Friuli in September 2021 in collaboration with the Barolo&Castle Foundation, the municipality of Barolo, and the Barolo regional wine shop – and it focuses on furniture and designs made with used corks. Visitors will find explanatory videos, such as one dedicated to decortication (where the bark is detached from the plant, initiating the cork production chain) and wall panels.

Yari Franceschetto, designer of the elegant furnishings, explains that his creations were part of a long journey that began with the creation of “granina”, a new material obtained from hybridizations with other materials and from recycled corks collected thanks to the ETICO project, launched in Italy in 2008 and that involves volunteers from 45 non-profit organizations.

Carlos Veloso Dos Santos, managing director of Amorim Italia, considers cork “a gift from nature, a gem of technology, and a dynamic force for the future”.

The furnishings on display – including tables, chairs, and stools in the shape of champagne corks – can also be used outdoors and demonstrate the adaptability of cork and its sustainable essence. Cork, unlike other natural materials like wood, does not involve cutting down trees but rather harvesting only the outermost part of the tree’s bark, which then grows back in approximately nine years.

Discover Suber's cork furniture collection on Design Italy.