For the latest edition of Spazio, Marsèll presents Soft Machine, an installation by Claire Duport, a textile artist working at the intersection of embroidery, quilting and three-dimensional installation.
With a background in fashion editorial, Duport later expanded her practice into illustration, collaborating with brands and fashion publications. Over time, she has developed this visual language by placing textiles at the centre of her work. By treating fabric as a second skin, Duport creates compositions that balance comfort and vulnerability.
Soft Machine is an installation, conceived for the latest chapter of Spazio, Marsèll’s ongoing program featuring a series of site-specific interventions by artists, designers, and curators. It was created to transform the flagship store on Via della Spiga, Milan, into a platform for cultural exchange and shared expression.
Suspended from the ceiling, a series of repeated sculptural forms immediately draws the eye. Their sharp silhouettes resemble industrial tools, anatomical details, or even sex toys; they never fully become any of these things. Rather than being made from rigid metal, the forms are constructed from translucent fabric, creating delicate structures.
The exhibition connects with Marsèll’s own design philosophy, which places experimentation and material exploration at the centre of its practice. The installation’s colour palette also echoes tones from the brand’s latest collection. It creates a visual link between Duport’s work and the objects displayed in the store.
Suspended from the ceiling, an accumulation of identical forms floats above the visitor. Repeated with the relentless logic of mass production, they establish a rhythm that is at once seductive and oppressive. Their pointed silhouettes suggest action. They appear designed to press, pierce or compress another surface, however they resist any clear identification. They resemble fragments of industrial tools, anatomical details or even sex toys, but never fully become any of these things. They are objects without an obvious function, multiplied until they begin to lose all familiarity.
–Joel Valabrega
Soft Machine examines the tension between attraction and unease. The sculptures appear both fragile and threatening, familiar yet difficult to define. Rather than resolving these contradictions, Duport allows them to coexist, inviting visitors to reconsider the relationship between an object’s appearance, its function, and the process through which it is made.
The exhibition is open to visit from 24 September until 30 October 2026
in Marsèll Milano Spiga, Via della Spiga 42, Milan.
Claire Duport’s IG @claire_duport
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