henraux's historic marmo magazine is reborn with a sixth issue

milan design week: on thursday april 6th 2017, at the minotticucine showroom in milan, president paolo carli of henraux, architect mario botta, aldo colonetti and other illustrious guests are presenting the latest edition of the ‘marmo’ magazine. this publication which has boomed in the sixties and seventies was a hotbed of cultural debate on architecture, art and design, the areas in which marble – the material that has recently been rediscovered and revived – expresses its many personifications. 

german-french artist hans arp at henraux

marmo was created in 1962 by erminio cidonio, the sole director of henraux  — a leader in marble quarrying and processing, published in five issues until 1971. as italian art critic bruno alfieri once pointed out in the first issue, the magazine is ‘a platform of modern culture, which is non sectarian, international, […] acts as a showcase of modern projects by all artists, architects and designers, in any material they are made of, if filtered through the eyes of art criticism and technique’. set for release at the minotticucine showroom, the new marmo starts with issue number six — where the sequence was left — and gives place to sculpture as well as architecture and design, with a special focus on innovation, processing methods and cutting-edge products. the latter is known to be an area in which henraux leads the way with its innovative use of robots in support of craftsmanship.

massimiliano pelletti, back to basic, 2015, work in progress.
image © nicola gnesi

marmo 6, as well as fondazione henraux, came to life when president paolo carli decided to take up on the extraordinary experience of erminio cidonio who, like adriano olivetti, meant to overcome the division between the worlds of manufacture and culture. in the 1950s and 1960s, cidonio opened an international centre for sculpture in the plant at querceta (LU), calling artists like henry moore, hans arp, henri georges adam, isamu nuguchi, francois stahly, emile gilioli, georges vantongerloo, and many more. all of them brought about an extremely vibrant artistic and cultural season, the effects of which still resound in the sculpture studios and mills of seravezza and pietrasanta. 

‘the magazine marmo has been part of […]a broad vision, an innovative and, in many respect, a revolutionary experience in the entire marble industry after the second world war that was struggling to embrace technological innovation and the cultural vibes that were springing up in europe and in the rest of the world. now, I am publishing it again to […] confirm the value and contents of the ideas and plans that the magazine had given voice to, and that are still a very effective tool, as it is cast into the views of the future of a modern henraux’, expresses paolo carli. 

cervaiole quarry
image © nicola gnesi

the publication will be will be out once a year, designed like a collector’s magazine with authoritative articles and a consistent format throughout that offers ever-new features. in the next issue, readers can find articles by baldessari&baldessari, marco casamonti, aldo colonetti, craig copeland, gillo dorfles, marva griffin wilshire, nicola micieli, costantino paolicchi, flavio arensi’s interview with mimmo paladino and an interview with mario botta.

ugo mulas, henraux
image courtesy of archivio mulas

cover of the historic issue MARMO4

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom