Architects, designers, professionals and experts in natural stone: they are the protagonists of Marmomac and, this year, with Marmomac Re-Start Digital Edition, there will be many protagonists between webinars and educational talks.
But who were the protagonists that made the 2019 edition special? Let’s make a brief recap, waiting to find out who will populate the new virtual space of Marmomac Re-Start.
Setsu & Shinobu Ito with the Stone Forest:
Both are Japanese designers with extensive work experience in various fields, including architecture, interior and space, product, industrial and packaging design.
They opened their own studio in 1997 and, over the years, they have received numerous international design awards such as the “Compasso d’Oro.” At Marmomac 2019 they surprised us with the Stone Forest, a fountain in the undergrowth of a marble forest, intended as a place where life is born. The forest grows in water and shows the maximum vitality and liveliness of the Bardiglio, Calacatta, Statuarietto and Carrara marbles. It is a real fusion between beauty and nature in marble.
Vincenzo Latina with Broken Paths
Vincenzo Latina, professor at the University of Catania, has exhibited his works in several editions of the International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale and has received numerous awards and recognitions. To Mamomac he brought the “Hortus Lithicus,” an abstract and essential bipartite enclosure: one sector is made of Aurisina Marble by Pizzul Marmi Aurisina while the surrounding area consists of Nero Africa Granite panels by Zenith C that accentuate the depth of the bottom.
On the ground, in the water tank, tall steel stems and remains of Aurisina marble gave a sense of abstract nature to the installation.
Fabio Calvi & Paolo Brambilla with Ossimoro
Fabio Calvi and Paolo Brambilla have been working together since 2006 with interior architecture, set-ups and product design. In 2019 they presented “Ossimoro,” intended as a paradigm of tension, originating the shape of a sink-sculpture in white marble in which the dynamics of water crystallize. With this work, they asked themselves: can the heaviness of marble evoke lightness?
Daniel Germani with Cocoon
Daniel Germani travels the world working and collaborating with important global brands such as Gandiablasco, Cosentino, Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens, Poliform and Riva 1920.
The work he presented at Marmomac 2019 is defined as “A silky case spun by the larvae of many insects for protection as pupae.” It is a seat in the shape of a throne/cocoon, designed in Pietra di Vicenza as a shield from the outside world, a sort of case or armor.
Serena Confalonieri with Libra
Serena Confalonieri is an independent designer and art director based in Milan. She works in the product, graphic and textile design industry, collaborating with Italian and foreign companies.
Working on the relationship between the natural element and the artificial element, the “Libra” installation stages the two faces of the environment in which we live, based on a precarious balance between natural action and human intervention. For this reason, organic forms and geometric solids alternate in the setting, composing totemic elements with a strong symbolic value, in which the heaviness of the stone element is not denied. At the center of the installation, we find a fountain, a symbolic representation of the indissoluble bond between man and nature. Various totems with different functions alternate around the fountain: seats, tables, vases, sculptures, all designed for the outdoors.
The designer decided to work with both the traditional materials processed by Bianco Cave: Lecce Stone and Ostuni Stone. These are joined by Carparo Stone and Poggiadro Stone which, with their more marked nuances, place the accent on some elements of the installation.
