Beyond Marble: Marmoles Man Celebrates 15 Years of Business and Contemporary Art

Beyond Marble: Marmoles Man Celebrates 15 Years of Business and Contemporary Art At its new facility in Massa, four major works by Luciano Massari, a series of paintings created directly on stone, and a permanent 500-square-meter mural produced in collaboration with Walter “Wally” Contipelli of Orticanoodles bring together marble, contemporary art and the local territory. Massa, Italy – September 2026 – Marmoles Man celebrates its 15th anniversary with the opening of its new facility in Massa and a project that brings together the company’s entrepreneurial journey and the world of contemporary art. Established in 2011 in the Massa-Carrara stone district, Marmoles Man selects, processes and distributes marble sourced from the Apuan Alps and other regions around the world. Over the years, the company has built a strong presence across major international markets while maintaining a deep connection with the territory where it was founded. The 15th anniversary and the opening of the new facility mark a new chapter in this journey. To celebrate the occasion, the company chose to engage with art through the material at the heart of its everyday work: marble. Rather than a celebration detached from production, the project was conceived within the very place where stone is selected, processed and distributed. Luciano Massari’s Project The project begins with the artistic research of Luciano Massari, a sculptor born in Carrara who studied at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts, where he later served for many years as Director. Over time, Massari has developed a relationship with marble that extends far beyond its technical dimension. For him, stone becomes a means of exploring space, memory, landscape, time and the transformations that shape them. For Marmoles Man, the artist chose to further develop the theme of the “Threshold.” A threshold marks a boundary, but it is not simply a limit. It is also a point of passage between two conditions: what is left behind and what may still begin. It can be a doorway, a line, a physical separation, or the sign of a change, a choice, or a different way of looking at reality. From this idea emerged four large-scale marble sculptures and a limited series of paintings conceived specifically for the project and created directly on stone. Marble thus assumes two distinct yet complementary roles. In the sculptures, it retains the weight, volume and physical presence of the material; in the paintings, it becomes a surface crossed by signs, images and color. Stone is no longer simply a body to be shaped, but also a space upon which to intervene. From Marble to the Wall The project extends across the large interior walls of the company’s new facility with a permanent mural covering approximately 500 square meters, created in collaboration with Walter “Wally” Contipelli of Orticanoodles. The meeting between the two artists is particularly significant because of their shared origins. Both were born in Carrara, yet they have followed different artistic paths, developing two distinct approaches to image and space. Massari has focused his research on sculpture and a direct relationship with material, while Contipelli has worked with walls, painting and the urban environment, creating major mural projects in Italy and abroad. For Marmoles Man, Contipelli takes a form conceived by Massari and transfers it onto the wall, adding his own visual language and integrating it into an image created specifically for the company’s spaces. It is through this transition that one of the project’s most significant elements emerges: the same form moves through two different dimensions — first as marble, volume and matter; then as line, color and image. The aim is therefore not simply to reproduce a sculpture on a wall, but to explore how an idea can transform as it moves from one artistic language to another. The collaboration between Massari and Contipelli becomes a process of transformation: the sculpture is no longer confined to its original form, while the mural goes beyond a purely decorative function. Both become part of a single artistic journey. Art Enters the Place of Production The decision to create and display the works within Marmoles Man itself is also central to the meaning of the project. The sculptures, paintings and mural are not presented in a museum or gallery, but in the very place where marble is observed, selected, moved, processed and sold every day. Art therefore enters the space of production and interacts directly with the activities that define the company’s identity, creating a connection between business, culture and territory. “We wanted to celebrate our first fifteen years while also looking to the future. For us, marble means business, work and international markets, but at the same time it represents culture, art and the identity of our territory. Bringing these works into our new facility allows us to bring these different dimensions together and tell the story of marble from another perspective,” says Tommaso Delia, Director of Marmoles Man. The opening of the new facility brought together clients, partners, collaborators and friends of the company from Italy and abroad, celebrating the journey that began in 2011 and marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Marmoles Man. On one side stands marble, with its millennia-old history and profound connection with Carrara; on the other, the contemporary language of mural art. Between these two worlds lies a territory that continues to inspire new interpretations of stone and landscape. Massari works with matter. Contipelli works with image. In their encounter, marble leaves the block, reaches the wall and changes form once again. It is here that the chosen theme finds its clearest expression: not simply a boundary to be recognized, but a point of passage from which a new transformation can begin. Press Contact Beatrice Baruzzo Via Martiri di Cefalonia 54100 Massa (MS), Italy Tel. +39 0585 54225 E-mail: beatrice@marmolesman.it www.marmolesman.it