Marble in design will be at the center of White Carrara which will open its doors on Friday 14 June, but which is already almost completely revealed, because the installations have all been placed in the sites identified for the exhibition. And from this alone we can easily draw predictions on the city’s reception of the event, given the well-known critical-polemical streak that distinguishes the people of Carrara. The photos of the works on display in White Carrara 2024 have already invaded social media and, with them, the comments of the locals, which, in general, can be considered almost all positively oriented: there is the marble (the shock of past years with everything but the marble has left indelible marks) and this is pleasing, the works are many and this, compared to last year’s edition, is a good goal achieved, the title is understandable and not abstruse like that of 2023, so, one can say that we are off to a good start and in Carrara is not at all a given. The event, in its creation and in its intentions, was presented this morning at the Mudac museum in Carrara, in the presence of the mayor Serena Arrighi, the councilor for culture Gea Dazzi, the artistic curator of this edition Domenico Raimondi, the president of the Chamber of Commerce Walter Tamburini and the director of the culture sector Cinzia Compalati.
Serena Arrighi thanked all the actors and collaborators who gave life to the 2024 edition of White Carrara: “The event – said Arrighi – is part of the choral activities in favor of the territory that we promote. I therefore thank Carrarafiere, Nausica, the Chamber of Commerce, the Marble Foundation and the Tuscany Region and in particular I thank the curator, Domenico Raimondi who managed to create a great synergy between the many realities of the territory. With this White Carrara we bring design works to the city that were created here but which belong to private individuals we have involved. For us it is a good result because it enhances the nature of Carrara as a city of marble, a city of know-how relating to marble and a UNESCO city for marble processing”.
The councilor Gea Dazzi she joined in the mayor’s thanks and recalled: “The chorality was fundamental and involved the whole city. Great work has been done together with Imm and all the local entities that participated in this which is a real celebration of the city dedicated to marble in the context of design, therefore a celebration of beauty as demonstrated by the works scattered throughout the city center”.
He was particularly satisfied with the collaboration with the municipality for White Carrara Walter Tamburini who declared: “As the Chamber of Commerce we thank you for being involved: marble is art, culture, but also a voice linked to the economy both for the companies that extract and work it, and for the tourism sector that it attracts. The event will take visitors to various points of Carrara throughout the summer, which is a very beautiful city that needs to be enhanced even more. This is why we joined by giving significant financial support. We believe that white Carrara can shine a spotlight on the city, further promoting the tourism revival already underway. Carrara deserves important stages from all points of view.”
The idea of White Carrara 2024 was explained by the curator Domenico Raimondi who started by highlighting the numbers of the event: “19 external installations visible to everyone in the historic center which will give the opportunity to see marble design objects that were created here, thanks to the involvement of renowned designers and architects who they are always aimed at the Carrara workers known for their excellence. 10 interior spaces where you can see smaller, everyday design objects such as lamps, bookcases and more. 30 designers, among which there are the seven projects presented by the Academy and created through a collaboration that retraced the history of design of the 60s and 70s to arrive at works created by the students. 20 designers of national and international importance who they turned to Carrara for their products because they were certain of the excellent result guaranteed by those who work marble in Carrara. 30 local companies involved and who were passionate about the project by searching through the crates of their warehouses to ensure that the works created here, but generally immediately sent to the places of exhibitions or exhibitions without ever being even known by the local inhabitants, can be rediscovered by citizens”. Raimondi mentioned some of the great Italian and international designers and four great design brands. Alessi, Ceramica Bosa, Martinelli Luce and Antonio Lupi Design who have started new collaborations with local companies as part of the White Carrara project. The challenge for me is won above all by the territory. We went from ‘designing for’ to ‘designing with’ to create a beautiful project together. And this is the most beautiful objective of the event. Design is not a work of art and becomes design if it is popular. It must bring beauty and concreteness closer to ordinary people, bring blahness within everyone’s reach, facilitate daily life by bringing beauty”. Manager Compalati then introduced the two visual arts exhibitions that will be held at Mudac, both of visual arts: “Direzioni” by Paolo Cavinato and “Alle Montagne” by Gabriele Landi, in which there are elements that have similarities with the language of design .
White Carrara is promoted and produced by Municipality of Carrara in collaboration with Internazionale Marmi e Macchine CarraraFiere SpA And Nausicaa SpAin partnership with the North-West Tuscany Chamber of Commerceunder the patronage of Tuscany region and the contribution of Marble Foundation.
Design is back it will be an opportunity to pay homage to fundamental pieces of the history of design Italian – the corkscrew Anna G.the table with seats Tree Table + Rabbit Chairthe pouf Soulamong others – but also to present new out-of-scale marble productionslike the kettle in the collection Pleated by Michele De Lucchi and the panda Bernardo of the designer Elena Salmistraroand local excellencelike the table Ball and the washbasins Introvert And Pixels Of Paolo Ulian.
Sculpture Anna G. it was made in a single example in veined statuary marble by Sa.Ge.Van. as a tribute on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the corkscrew of the same name, designed by Alessandro Mendini for Alessi in 1994. Ten years later, the iconic Anna G. in marble is presented to the public again for White Carrara.
Designed by Stefano Giovannoni and created by Robot City in 2014 for the Salone del Mobile, Tree Table + Rabbit Chair it is a marble installation composed of a phytomorphic table and zoomorphic seats in the shape of rabbits. Combining a playful-narrative dimension, ergonomics and functionality, Tree Table + Rabbit Chair over time they have transformed into a family of Qeeboo products with strong media communication.
Soul it is a pouf-sculpture in statuarietto marble with original fluid lines. Conceived by architect Simone Micheli and created by Sa.Ge.Van. in 2023, it enhances the essence of the age-old material through soft and unexpected shapes.
Thanks to the synergy between Alessi, Franchi Umberto Marmi and Angeloni Marble studio, the collection is celebrated Pleated, designed by Michele De Lucchi, through the proposal of a contemporary object with distant roots. A large marble kettle, sculptural yet very light, capable of restoring the dynamism of the pleated dresses of the fifties and sixties.
For White Carrara 2024, Elena Salmistraro and the Barattini family, through Studi d’Arte Carrara, will create Bernardo in the precious white marble of Cave Michelangelo. Bernardo it is a panda, designed in 2020 and produced by Bosa Ceramiche, symbol of all species at risk of extinction. A hero of our times ready to fight to defend all other animals, reminding us, human beings, how vital the salvation of our planet is.
Finally, affection for one’s city brings Paolo Ulian to exhibit for White Carrara 2024 the table Ballproduced by Bufalini Marmi through the concentric processing of a single slab which allows the quantity of waste to be reduced to a minimumAnd Introvert And Pixels, two cylindrical washbasins designed for Antonio Lupi Design, which through human intervention reveal unique and unrepeatable shapes. The rough-hewn technique, usually used for sculptures, allows the designer to strip and reveal the shape and soul of the objects.
Among smaller objectsdisplayed in shop windows, but also in vacant lots, with a view to urban regeneration, we highlight the eight lamps/sculptures of the project Quarry Lightscreated by 8 internationally prestigious designers thanks to the technical assistance of Martinelli Luce and to the support of FIDI – Florence Institute of Design International, the historical design collection Up&Up Of Upgroups and the collection The Stone House Of Gumdesign.
White Carrara 2024 will also have a Circuit Off, thanks to the participation of local artists, workshops and art galleries, who will enliven the historic center with exhibitions and collateral events to the event. «We believe in the culture of the project as a collective practice, in which different ideas, skills and realities meet and mix, making available the tools and qualities that every project needs», underlines Raimondi. “We have built White Carrara 2024 with the precious artisanal, artistic, cultural and entrepreneurial strengths of a community and the treasures of a territory: it is truly a collective experience, founded on the responsibility and generosity of sharing what Carrara is able to do. Sharing makes a community stronger, more cohesive, proud and makes it courageous, strong and flexible in the face of difficulties. This is the White that we built together, with passion and determination.”
In anticipation of White Carrara 2024L’Carrara Academy of Fine Arts involved its students in recovering the memory of design in Carrara, which in the recent past saw Santini, Munari, Coppola and Mangiarotti as teachers. The series of meetings entitled Design: between nature and beauty, the charm of marble aimed at students of the design and sculpture course, began a creative journey that ended with the creation of some product design projects dedicated to marble. special events aimed at citizens and the public: guided visits to artistic workshops and stone companies in collaboration with Carrara Studi Aperti, excursions to the quarries, activities for the little ones, musical events and food and wine initiatives with the involvement of trade associations and local producers. White Carrara it is an opportunity to promote the excellence of the territory and confirm the vocation of Carrara as UNESCO Creative Citythrough an initiative that aims to tell the “landscape” of marble, the history of a community and the identity of places. White Carrara 2024 it is signed Domenico Raimondi – thesignlab, a laboratory of creatives and designers who work in the design and visual field. Art director and designer, Raimondi completed his technical studies at the European Institute of Design in Turin. His training includes a master’s degree in landscape design directed by the IED Research Center in Milan as well as important international project experiences relating to exhibit design, event planning and communication. Founder of the creative laboratory that bears his name active in Lucca and Turin, he works in the design and visual field with particular reference to projects and organization of residential, commercial, exhibition and museum interior design. Always alongside leading institutions and companies in the creation of exhibition and communication solutions through direct synergies with the marketing, visual and brand promotion offices.
