IN OUR TIME
Time In Stone
IN OUR TIME
Hall 11
Curated by: Raffaello Galiotto e Vincenzo Pavan
Contemporaneity and the spirit of the time in lithic design for furniture products.
Stone is an extremely durable material that comes from the most remote past and is carried into the future with a promise of eternity for those who work with it and those who use it. In design, a product is considered to have an appropriate lifespan when it is conceived and realised in coherence with its actual period of use; consequently, extreme durability or rapid consumption necessarily imply different design approaches and materials.
Lithic material should therefore be oriented towards extreme durability, or alternatively be integrated into product design in such a way that it can later be reused in other forms or recycled for the production of new products. Today, more than in the past, design is facilitated by technology and by CNC machinery available in marble industry workshops, which allow complex and precise processes to be carried out—replicable in series or capable of performing shaped cuts that separate material while reducing waste.
The exhibition, curated by Raffaello Galiotto and Vincenzo Pavan, aims to develop this reflection on the contemporary use of stone through a series of previously unseen experimental projects, created by leading designers and produced by teams of Italian companies from the stone sector.
Andrea Branzi — Odone Angelo
Cristina Celestino — Margraf with Cristina Rubinetterie
Francesco Faccin — Bianco Cave by Fato Stone
Raffaello Galiotto — Vicentina Marmi, Donatoni Macchine with All-Led
Giuseppe Fallacara, Maurizio Barberio – New Fundamentals Research Group —
Stilmarmo with CNC Design, Piccinini Marmi, Mosaico Digitale
Matteo Ragni — GMM, Alphacam by Licom Systems with Tosco Marmi
STONE BOXES
DESIGN
ANDREA BRANZI
PRODUCTION
ODONE ANGELO
MATERIAL
PIETRA DI LUSERNA
“With the Stone Boxes, I tried to cut stone as if it were butter—opening it up to reveal what is hidden inside. Stone, so hard and ancient, can become a secret concealed outside of time.”
REPÈRE
DESIGN
CRISTINA CELESTINO
PRODUCTION
MARGRAF with CRISTINA RUBINETTERIE
MATERIAL
Travertine, Azul Calcite, Verde Giada, Fior di Pesco Carnico, Pink Onyx
“The project conceived for the exhibition In Our Time, developed in collaboration with Margraf, presents itself as a hybrid indoor–outdoor space for self-care: a place to take one’s time, experiencing direct contact with stone and water.”
If lithic material carries time within itself, the project becomes a spokesperson for the time of making—the time required to work a precious material with infinite facets. A sort of small terraced stone garden, composed of travertines, Azul Calcite and Verde Giada, creates a play of colours and finishes that recalls Scarpa’s spatial memory.
Functional objects, conceived as sculptures, are placed on the steps: a washbasin, a planter and a shower tray. The volumes are generated through the juxtaposition of layers of different marbles—Fior di Pesco Carnico, Verde Giada and Pink Onyx—worked as a single block of material, allowing the various strata to emerge within the concavities of the object.
A texture created through marble studs placed on shallow concavities of the slab generates a motif inspired by Canova’s technique of duplicating casts through a grid of small nails. A contemporary concept made possible by advanced processing techniques and Margraf’s century-long expertise, aimed at narrating marble and its expressive potential.
IL TRONO
DESIGN
FRANCESCO FACCIN
PRODUCTION
BIANCO CAVE BY FATO STONE
MATERIAL
PIETRA DI OSTUNI
A minimal architecture, an observatory, a throne for the tired quarryman. This object is first and foremost a place that speaks a language familiar to those who work in quarries: a simple wooden structure acting as bracing, and two stone slabs.
I imagine this structure blending in among blocks and slabs waiting to be transformed; it is neither a monument nor an installation, but a space—a shelter dedicated to those who work stone with tenacity and passion. Stone is undoubtedly the first material that protected and welcomed humankind, since the dawn of time.
MIRROR OF TIME
DESIGN
RAFFAELLO GALIOTTO
PRODUCTION
VICENTINA MARMI, DONATONI MACCHINE with ALL-LED
MATERIAL
Belgian Black Marble
The project explores the theme of the mirror through finely polished Belgian Black marble. Four stone mirrors play with the concept of time, associating the ephemeral, reflected image of the viewer with the eternity of reflective stone.
This temporal relationship between stone and person is intended to provoke reflection on the contrast between the most ancient natural material and the transience of the human being who uses it. The four mirror designs are conceived to minimise waste and are produced through two different processes: CNC milling and cutting.
VIRTUAL LITHIC SCREENS
DESIGN
GIUSEPPE FALLACARA, MAURIZIO BARBERIO – NEW FUNDAMENTALS RESEARCH GROUP
PRODUCTION
STILMARMO with CNC DESIGN, PICCININI MARMI, MOSAICO DIGITALE
MATERIAL
UV PRINTED APRICENA LIMESTONE and NATURAL RESIN
The installation aims to create interaction between the natural pattern of stone and a parametric pattern impressed onto the lithic surface using UV printing, generating a layered and virtual reading between the natural and the artificial.
Two suspended “medallions”—one circular and one diamond-shaped—exemplify double-sided subtractive processing, allowing stone to become a filtering screen between interior and exterior. Their shadows are projected and intermingle with the parametric pattern printed on the stone.
BETTER TIMES
DESIGN
MATTEO RAGNI
PRODUCTION
GMM, ALPHACAM BY LICOM SYSTEMS
MATERIAL
PALISSANDRO BY TOSCO MARMI
“With the Stone Boxes, I tried to cut stone as if it were butter—opening it up to reveal what is hidden inside. Stone, so hard and ancient, can become a secret concealed outside of time.”
