// Solid Senses //
“Solid Senses” is, first and foremost, a creative project transformed into an exhibition. Four important personalities from different generations and trends in architecture and design were invited to work on a valuable material, Carrara marble, to create unique objects.
Specially for Robot City – Italian Art Factory, Cini and Stefano Boeri, Stefano Giovannoni, Alessandro Mendini and Paolo Ulian made a series of original works, in limited series. Valuable furnishing objects, that develop from the “eternal white material,” and give unexpected twists to the interchange between form, function, visual appearance, ergonomics, tradition and innovation. Each of them enhanced the expressive and functional potential of this ancient, fascinating material, transforming it into advanced contemporary expressions according to their personal style and language. All the objects in the “Solid Senses” project were made from a single block of marble of rare quality, weighing 38.750 tonnes, taken from the quarries owned by Gualtiero Vanelli.
Stefano Boeri presents the reinterpretation of a design by Cini Boeri, “Tavolo Onda” (wave table) created by Boeri Design (cb, dp, sb). Boeri says, “Marble and plate glass are strong, pure materials. On a marble base, the transparency of a crystal glass surface is ready for the untidiness of everyday life.”
Alessandro Mendini penned a new chapter in the story of his most iconic work, the “Proust” armchair originally created in 1978, making it entirely in marble. The whiteness and weight of this material give the object a hyper-realist appearance and an almost surreal effect, with a touch of very contemporary visual design.
Stefano Giovannoni designed a phytomorphic table in marble, with zoomorphic chairs: “Rabbit Tree.” The object combines function and irony, bringing together narrative content, sophisticated and innovative structural engineering, and the style that has made him famous all over the world.
Paolo Ulian (with Moreno Ratti) applied his dedication to eco-sustainability in his design “Land,” a chair made from two flat marble slabs cut concentrically, and “Comb,” a multi-functional object, a modular bench and bookshelf. The modular design enables a single unit to be used as a chair, or, by combining the various parts, it can be transformed into a spacious bookshelf. The fluted motifs in the design are both structural and decorative, reducing the weight of each unit by about a third.
// Carrara Idol //
On occasion of the inauguration of the exhibition “Solid Senses” during the Milan Furniture Show week, GMV LA Civiltà del Marmo presents, on Tuesday 8 April 2014, the second edition of CARRARA IDOL. The event consists of an exclusive concert performance, created by Gualtiero Vanelli, an eclectic Tuscan businessman from a family that has been involved in marble for three generations, and by David Bryan, co-founder of the group Bon Jovi, for which he still plays keyboards. David Bryan will perform in Milan, in an evocative industrial space, playing a unique instrument: the M-Piano, a remarkable grand piano by Steinway & Sons, around which a silhouette in valuable marble has been created, cloaking it entirely and giving this instrument a very original sound.
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