The artist originates from Colonnata near Carrara, famous for its stone and just the serpentine road all the way up
Could Chiara Imperiali have chosen to do anything else but work in marble? In fact, she did study public relations for the fashion and jewelry industry in Florence. But since then she has reconciled her studies with stone and entertains her own studio for marble jewelry since 2011.
Chiara comes from Pemart, a family business in Colonnata which entertains a marble quarry for many generations. It is the most elevated stone-producing town of the Carrara region and can be reached only via a long serpentine road. The name might ring a bell from the Lardo di Colonnata, a world-famous salt pork-belly specialty aged in marble casks.
The family not only quarries the stone. They also produce commissioned high-quality value-added products. Chiara was already active in the family business as a child, she writes us: „I breathe marble.“
She was introduced to working the stone in the family studio. This is also where she developed her artistic signature.
All considered, Chiara Imperiali is not only designer since she crafts all her pieces from scratch by hand. Mostly the pieces are commissioned by customers.
Her own inspiration comes from day-to-day life. „Whenever I see is a shape that I like, I try to realize it in marble.“ The shape could be a letter of the alphabet, or a drop or a square, as our photos show.
She is careful to minimize the weight of the stone so her work is filigree.
The artist, who is in her mid-thirty’s, entertains her atelier in Carrara. Her Trademark is called Marmonìa, a portemanteau comprising Marmo (marble) and Armonia (harmony), with which she wants to express that marble is not merely „something heavy and solid but can be also light and soft and so can be modeled in different shapes“.
Photos: Chiara Imperiali
(19.10.2015, USA: 10.19.2015)