Water and well-being: a vital combination that has accompanied mankind since the dawn of time.
The sacredness of water as an element that brings life and that keeps us alive, an essential element for everyone in its continuous flowing and transformation. Many analogies can be drawn between water and stone: over and above the need to be contained and collected, the holy aspect of water requires a recipient in keeping with its content; marble and its imperturbable fixity and solidity consequently becomes the ideal material for weaving a preferential relationship with ‘water.
Water therefore means bodily as well as spiritual well-being.

In churches, holy water stoups are traditionally made of marble to offer blessed water to the faithful to mark their foreheads, hearts and shoulders in the sign of the cross.
So, I conceived three stoups of different heights characterized by distinct geometry with soft and monolithic shapes made from a red marble – a colour that has always been used by kings and emperors. In this project, the basins remain suspended on their support. A minor miracle is accomplished: namely, a large monolith poised on a small column: the sense of precariousness emanated enhances the marble, making it unexpectedly lightweight and ethereal, thereby inspiring values that transcend the physical nature of the object to moving into inner territories linked with spirituality and inner well-being.

Giulio Iacchetti, industrial design since 1992, designs for many brands including Abet Laminati, Alessi, Artemide, Danese, Coop, Foscarini, Magis, Moleskine. The distinctive characteristics of his work is the research and definition of new object typologies, like the Moscardino, the biodegradable spoon/fork designed with Matteo Ragni and for which, in 2001, he has been awarded with Compasso d’Oro. In May 2009 the Triennale di Milano held a solo exhibition entitled “Giulio Iacchetti. Disobedient objects”. He also curates several exhibitions: “Cruciale”, “K-ration, the meals for soldier in action” and “Clothespin”. In November 2012 he launches Internoitaliano, the “factory network” made up of many craftsmen labs with whom he signs and produces furniture and accessories inspired by the italian way of living. In 2014, he won his second Compasso d’Oro for the design of the manhole covers Sfera, designed with Matteo Ragni for Montini.

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Curated by Raffaello Galiotto

The Liquido, Solido, Litico exhibition sets off from the central theme of the Hall – water – to analyse its ancient bond with stone in greater detail: two natural elements whose destiny is to model each other. Water, whose perpetual cycle of flowing down towards the sea erodes rocks, and stone, that holds and embraces shapeless liquid in its cavities.
Mankind has also become involved in this relationship: since ancient times, people have carved the hardest and most resistant material to make hollow, sloping and smooth objects to contain, channel and flow water that simply cannot be gripped in our hands.
This event experiments with new forms and functions of products in stone intended for use with water through implementations characterised by innovative numerical control machining operations.