Founded by Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis, Objects of Common Interest (OoCI) is a studio that fluidly moves across disciplines — art, design, architecture — while being rooted in material experimentation, conceptual exploration, and tangible experiences. Based between New York and Athens, the duo blends their cultural backgrounds into projects that challenge perceptions of space and form.
With an impressive roster of solo shows at institutions like Noguchi Museum, Design Museum Brussels, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Cycladic Museum Athens, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Québec, Vitra Design Museum, Nilufar Gallery Milan, and Etage Projects Copenhagen — as well as founding and running LOT Office for Architecture — OoCI has established itself as a studio that doesn’t just make swoon-worthy objects, but builds experiences.
Among several presentations at this year’s Milan Design Week, three standout exhibitions showcase the studio’s signature approach to form, space, and transformation: VOIDS, Adaptive Ground, and Lucid Dreamscape. Here’s a look at what’s on view.
VOIDS at Alcova
Set within the historic Villa Borsani, VOIDS is a series of resin works created for The Breeder Gallery, that explore form through negative space, and the delicate balance between absence and presence. Born through a casting process, the works invite viewers to reconsider the role of the mold — not just as a means to an end, but as a conceptual force that captures both permanence and evolution. Each piece emerges from a fleeting gesture, a choreography of bends, folds, and wraps that are preserved in solid form.
Drawing from corrugated steel shopfront rollers — an everyday sight across Athens’ urban landscape — the series transforms the functional into the poetic. The environment allows the pieces to settle into the space with quiet autonomy, as though they’ve always belonged. VOIDS becomes not just an exhibition, but an unfolding dialogue between material, memory, and place.
“What makes VOIDS compelling is its reflection on transformation — not just of materials but of meaning, context, and time. These works embody an evolution,
shifting from urban remnants to autonomous sculptures, from raw gestures to
refined expressions. Within Villa Borsani, they prompt contemplation about the
spaces we navigate daily and the objects we choose to live with.,” reflects the designers.
Adaptive Ground at Marsèll
In Adaptive Ground, OoCI engages with the materiality of Marsèll’s Milan flagship, working directly with the textures of stone, walnut, and marble. Across two levels, the duo presents reimagined versions of their signature Tube Lights and Formations seating — this time in black finishes and leather — alongside the inflatable Atmosphere Lamps first shown at the Noguchi Museum and inspired by organic shapes. The installation explores transformation through form — inviting visitors to reflect on the shifting relationship between space, material, and presence.
Lucid Dreamscape At Nilufar Depot
Inspired by cinematic and theatrical elements, Lucid Dreamscape blurs the line between reality and fantasy, offering viewers a truly unique experience. Visitors enter a surreal, red “monochromatic mise-en-scène”, where translucent resin pieces, developed in collaboration with Castinggg Studio, anchor the dreamlike atmosphere. Rose sculpted mirrors, glowing lights, and elegant furniture pieces contribute to the space’s sensual atmosphere.
A red curtain signals the transition to a more ethereal scene, where iridescent elements evoke a sense of wonder and magic. The transition invites visitors to explore deeper layers of the dream, creating a moment of self-reflection as they take control of the narrative unfolding around them.
VOIDS and Lucid Dreamscape are on view through the end of Design Week, April 13. Adaptive Ground remains open for one month, beginning Tuesday, April 8.
