50 Years of Living Marble, at Marmomacc

This event is curated by architect Vincenzo Pavan. Its far-reaching scope will stimulate comparisons between current design using stone and products dating from the craftsman generation; this will provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the cultural, technical and commercial events that have accompanied the controversial yet rewarding presence of these materials in Italian design. It will also encourage effective debate over prospects for relaunching the use of marble in design, even in light of recent digital technologies that open up new horizons for the entire sector.

The use of natural stone and marble in Italian design, albeit perhaps not as well-known as other materials, nonetheless boasts a prestigious history in terms of the calibre of the figures who contributed to the design and creativity experience as well as the significant entrepreneurial input by companies manufacturing these products.

Since the 1960s, numerous objects in marble – by now international icons – were included in the catalogues of leading Italian design brands boasting such prestigious signatures as Tobia Scarpa, Gae Aulenti, Angelo Mangiarotti, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Sergio Asti, Sottsass Associati, Michele De Lucchi, Mario Bellini, Enzo Mari, Karim Rashid, Zaha Hadid, Alessandro Mendini, Antonia Astori, Paolo Ulian, Claudio Silvestrin and Raffaello Galiotto – all belonging to the celebrated school of Italian designers that laid the foundations for the international impact of Made in Italy.

The design events hosted in Hall 1 – The Italian Stone Theatre – include the new historical retrospective 50 Years of Living Marble exhibition of Italian stone product design. The exhibition comprises marble objects from the collections and archives of historic design companies and other more recent entries in the stone sector focusing on product design. It will be set off by a catalogue, video and a conference.

* For further information: www.levantina.es