Jul 17
2024

The sculpture “Anna G.” (Sa. Ge. Van. Marmi company, 2014) is reminiscent of the corkscrew with the same name that Alessandro Mendini designed in metal for Alessi in 1994.Corinna Natalia Balloni, Carlo Alberto Gasparini, for SA. GE. VAN. Marmi (2015): “Origami.”

It was at the foot of the Apuan Alps after the Second World War, that sculptors and companies started to make everyday products from marble

Under the title “Design is back”, the current edition of the “White Carrara” event is taking place until September 29, 2024. It puts the marble from the Apuan Alps between Lucca and La Spezia at the center of a number of cultural events.

This time, Domenico Raimondi, designer and culture organizer, is the art director of the event. He has placed the region as such at the center – only companies as well as artists and designers from there will present works made of local stone.

His aim is to highlight the role that places like Carrara, Massa, Seravezza, and Pietrasanta played in the natural stone world and world culture: It was sculptors and companies from there who, after the Second World War, were looking for new ways to make everyday objects out of that ancient material.

They saw themselves as modern and were technology-savvy – thus providing the impetus for natural stone product design as we know it today.

At “White Carrara”, this is told in two strands:
* on the one hand, many objects since the 2000s will be on display, partly in exhibitions, sometimes simply in a shop window or outside at a square;
* on the other hand, works by current designers will also be presented.

A detailed city map shows the locations.

Paolo Ulian for antoniolupi (2017): left: “Pixel”, right: “Introverso.”

The program also includes guided tours of quarries, marble factories, and sculpture workshops.

Local initiatives present food and wine with the participation of trade associations and local producers.

Nicolas Bertoux for Martinelli Luce (2024): “Wink.Cynthia Sah for Martinelli Luce (2024): “Un Pezzo di Luna.“Emiliana Martinelli for Martinelli Luce (2024): “Fox.”

“White Carrara” has its origins in the years before 2018, when the previously renowned Carrara Marmotec trade fair was discontinued. Insiders report that the stone companies were hopelessly at odds, at that time.

As a reminder: at the turn of the millennium, China had firmly established itself on the world market as a trader, processor, and consumer of natural stone: It only bought raw blocks abroad, which were processed in Chinese hubs such as Xiamen/Shuitou or elsewhere.

In Carrara in 2018, the trade fair tried a new start with the “Carrara2” concept. This included the “Marmotec_Hub_4.0” sub-project, which brought international buyers together with local quarry companies.

The other sub-project was called “White Carrara Downtown”. It was intended as a cultural attraction for buyers and also as an event for tourists.

What remains of this and of numerous subsequent initiatives is “White Carrara”. The municipality, Internazionale Marmi and Macchine CarraraFiere SpA, and the Chamber of Commerce of Northwest Tuscany are now committed to the event. The Tuscany region is the patron and support comes from the Marble Foundation.

And: the parallel exhibition “Romana marmora” sheds light on the history of the Roman Empire from the perspective of stone; “mudaC” is about visual art from Carrara.

Last but not least, the Museo del Marmo in Massa is currently undergoing a thorough renovation.

White Carrara (Italian)

Photos: White Carrara

(17.07.2024, USA: 07.17.2024)