58 ERAN 83
MARIANO VILALLONGA
Digitally enlarged sculptures for a monumental exhibition -bridging handcrafted artistry and digital fabrication to bring poetic forms to life at scale.
CLIENT & CONTEXT
Painter and sculptor Mariano Vilallonga approached Matter with a deeply personal project: to transform four small hand-sculpted plasticine maquettes into large-format sculptures for his solo exhibition “Itinerarios de la resistencia: 58 eran 83” at Centro de Arte Alcobendas, Madrid.
The works reflect the artist’s journey to walk a straight line between the city and the mountains—an exploration of how intent is reshaped by the built and natural environment. The sculptures needed to maintain the poetic quality of the original forms, while being physically robust and scalable for public display.
CHALLENGES
Preserve the nuance and expressiveness of small maquettes in large-scale translation
Digitally process and prepare the models for CNC fabrication
Ensure material, weight and balance were suitable for safe public installation
Collaborate closely to align with the artist’s vision at every scale
SERVICES PROVIDED
High-resolution photogrammetry 3D scanning
Digital model cleanup, scaling, and proportion refinement
Structural simulation (centre of mass, stability, material thickness analysis)
Fabrication-ready files prepared for CNC milling in polystyrene
Ongoing artist consultation and collaboration
PROCESS BREAKDOWN
Photogrammetry of maquettes
The photogrammetry data was processed
3D clean-up and resizing
Structural analysis software was used to ensure the models could be fabricated safely and accurately.
Given the height and top-heavy nature of the forms, the centre of mass was calculated for each piece. This allowed for slight adjustments to their orientation, helping to centre the mass and define flat cutting planes at the base—ensuring stability once installed.
After reviewing wall thicknesses, we recommended increasing the thickness of the spines and legs due to the brittle nature of the material used for milling. These changes were made subtly using digital sculpting tools, preserving the integrity of the original forms.
The final files were exported in a format suitable for CNC machining, with scale drawings provided as an additional reference.
RESULT & IMPACT
Time and material savings compared to manual enlargement
Artist-controlled form at every scale
Fast project delivery
Successful public exhibition of four large-format works
Structural reliability for public display
A seamless bridge between handcrafted intimacy and monumental scale
The four sculptures formed the centerpiece of “Itinerarios de la resistencia: 58 eran 83”, held from July to September 2025 at Centro de Arte Alcobendas.
Through this collaboration, Vilallonga was able to scale his vision without sacrificing the nuance of his original maquettes. The digital fabrication workflow enabled: