Read Design

Discovering Salvatori and The Carrara Marble Quarries

Our visit to the Tuscan marble district with Gabriele Salvatori

Paolo Ferrarini

13 February 2024

As a material, marble has defined architecture and design, art forms and historic periods. We stepped into this world first-hand when we visited the Carrara marble quarries, the surrounding Tuscan lands, and the Salvatori company. Guido Salvatori founded his namesake company in 1946 in the small town of Querceta, a few kilometers from the Northern Tuscan coast and not far from the world-famous Carrara quarries. Salvatori is now run by third-generation family members who have transformed the company from a small local business into a flourishing internationally-renowned brand, recognized for its love for craftsmanship, its close relationship with design and experimentation around innovative processes.

Salvatori’s elective materials are natural stones and marbles, including Bianco Carrara, Gris du Marais and limestone. The brand focuses on a small color palette that ranges from white to black, cream, light gray and dark gray. This is mainly for a technical reason: these materials withstand processing under blades, a technology that distinguishes the company from peers. That said, Salvatori also produces small, colorful objects, such as the photo frames and vases of the new Precioso collection by American designer Stephen Burks.

CEO Gabriele Salvatori loves design, as demonstrated by the Burks collaboration, as well as partnerships with Michael Anastassiades, Kengo Kuma, Piero Lissoni, John Pawson, Yabu Pushelberg, Patricia Urquiola, Vincent Van Duysen and many more. 

“A beautiful project originates from a great designer sitting at the same table alongside a great craftsman,” Salvatori tells us. “The craftsman puts the experience on the plate, and the designer brings a naive, unpolluted eye that helps you look sideways. It comes as if the designer were a child who turned things upside down.”

Color and collaboration aside, Salvatori’s specialty is the processing of white Carrara marble. To reach the quarries, we venture onto dirt roads full of curves, stones and white dust. Once at the top, we are captured by the majesty of the Apuan Alps mountain range and the centuries-old work that dug them. Their intrinsic value is such that, since 2011, the Tuscan Mining Park has been part of the UNESCO Global Geopark network. That’s not to mention all the Renaissance sculpture masterpieces that were made with this marble, and the great artists that we all know came here in person to choose the best blocks. Today, this work is coordinated by a consortium and carried out in 150 quarries by skilled workers who work with gigantic machinery as well as their bare hands.

White marble is primarily mainly for sculpture and architecture but has several other usages. It is, in fact, a very precious material made up of 95% calcium carbonate. It is expensive, porous and easy to work with; it is used for cosmetics, toothpaste, paint and even dietary supplements. We ask our guide if the material that is likely to run out. “I don’t think so,” he tells us, “we are digging at over 1000 meters above sea level, but below us, the marble reaches up to three kilometers below sea level. Since the ancient Roman times, we have only scratched the surface.”

Back at the Salvatori factory, we visit production. Here, we observe the many steps that are meticulously executed by hand. The colors of the stones, which may seem the same to an inexperienced eye, actually have variations in hue. For large orders, it becomes necessary to maintain a uniformity of color, and until now, only human experience allowed this.

Salvatori says this may change. “For the white Carrara, one of our specialized craftsmen comes to make 23 to 24 choices of tones with their naked eye. We are nerds, but after eight hours of this work, even the human eye goes haywire. This is why we have been studying AI for years and, in recent times, also generative AI. This is a passion of mine,” he says.

Neural networks can also come in handy in the design process of a traditional material. “We also know Midjourney well, but it’s the tip of the iceberg,” Salvatori says. “I don’t want to tell you that AI will draw me the next texture, but it will give me a great hand in visualizing an idea without wasting time and material for prototyping. Maybe it can give me some ideas, like that ‘looking sideways’ that maybe will make me find something that I like that we can then develop.”

Read Culture

Artist Pandora Graessl’s Transportive “Amor Fati: When the Fire Bit Me” Exhibition

In an abandoned building in Mexico City, a mythic serpentine journey comes to life

David Graver

12 February 2024

In several rooms across three floors of an abandoned brick building, behind a small market in Mexico City, photographer and multidisciplinary artist Pandora Graessl‘s mythic exhibition, Amor Fati: When the Fire Bit Me, transports guests by way of serpentine photographic and sculptural works. The immersive installation—which plays with light and color, texture and material—contrasts several metaphoric pieces with their surprising surroundings. While the unexpected exhibition aligned with the Zona Maco art fair, it will continue to run through 20 February.

Amor Fati is the first solo Latin American exhibition for Graessl, a French-Swiss artist who resides in Mexico City. In the exhibit, she conjures up inkjet prints of hyper-realistic scans of snakes and floral arrangements and forges twisting bronze sculptures. Each work is an exploration of the mythic and natural worlds, and converses with the raw edifice and the views beyond every windowless frame.

Graessl, who founded her own creative studio after working Bureau Betak and Management Artists, utilized the power of collaboration for several pieces in Amor Fati. In one spellbinding corner room, the artist pairs her “La Curandera” chair, crafted from stainless steel, leather and python skin, with a mirror surrounded by python skins of various colors—all set to tangles of vegetation. Both pieces were produced in conjunction with Paolo Angelucci, and will be produced in unique editions, by demand. The exhibition also features two carpets developed in collaboration with Joel Fear, each composed of cotton, microfiber polyester and luxury chenille yarn.

Other collaborators include composer and cellist Patrick Belaga and audio company X-Pan, both who contribute to the exhibition’s multi-sensory centerpiece, a suspended sound sculpture set with colorful candles. Hosted in a sprawling garage, beside the dismantled parts of a red Corvette (the latter not a part of the exhibition), the sculpture’s magnitude, flickering flames and drone-like soundscape ensnare attendees.

Living elements (like floral moments or plastic-wrapped shrubbery) and representations of life (including imagery of flowers) infiltrate each room. Throughout, Graessl taps into dreamlike wonder and guides attendees from room to room asking them to question what they encounter. There’s something haunting about Amor Fati and something haunted about the venue. And it’s this logic that allows all of the parts to work in service to one another—or consume each other—much like an ouroboros.

Amor Fati is open to the public from 10AM to 8 pm, and by appointment, at Avenida Thiers 231, Anzures, Miguel Hidalgo, 11590, Mexico City.

Read Technology

Test Drive: 2024 Mercedes-Benz eSprinter

From Los Angeles to Huntington Beach, CA on a mix of city streets and highways

Evan Orensten

7 February 2024

The new eSprinter is a major step toward Mercedes-Benz’s commitment to a fully electric future of mobility, and is certain to be an increasingly important segment of their van market. Though we are more frequently behind the wheel of the brand’s passenger vehicles, given the importance of this product in the commercial and fleet space (and very likely consumer space too) we wanted to experience it first-hand and had the opportunity to drive it from Los Angeles to Huntington Beach, CA on a mix of city streets and highways.

While quite large (it’s 170″ long with a high roof and can hold 488 cu ft of cargo up to 2,634 lbs and tow up to 4,200 lbs.), it’s actually very easy to drive, and more comfortable than other products in the segment that we’ve experienced. Other than its electric powertrain, the eSprinter is nearly identical to its non-electric twin, and the latest MBUX infotainment system is an available option. Not surprisingly, it drives like a van, specifically one made with cities in mind. As with all electric vehicles, torque is immediately available, so you can easily accelerate to merge into traffic or as needed. It’s not an AMG, and is obviously not made for athletic performance. It’s limited to 70 mph, adequate for nearly every use. Because of the electric motor the interior is noticeably quieter.

“The new Mercedes-Benz eSprinter underlines our claim to ‘Lead in Electric’ and kicks off the next stage of our electrification strategy. Its versatility and flexibility make the new eSprinter the ideal vehicle for a wide range of applications,” says Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. The gasoline-powered range includes several models, and it’s likely that we’ll see more eSprinter models added to the portfolio over the next few years. While currently more expensive than its gasoline powered twin, starting at $74,181 (which includes destination fees) the savings over using diesel fuel add up quickly, and of course there’s the marketing desire / opportunity to use and share that the company uses electric vehicles. It may also provide more access to certain city areas or lanes dedicated for EV use.

This is a workhorse, designed for small businesses, delivery and service fleets, and mobile workshops. Most customers will take delivery in a standard “panel” configuration, but other options are available. The conversion market has been anxiously awaiting its arrival with plentiful options for sport, camping and mobile offices coming soon. The eSprinter is new to the US and China, and will be made in the company’s North Charlston, SC plant in the US, and their Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde plants in Germany.

The eSprinter sits on a new platform, called VAN.EA (Van Electric Architecture), that will support all upcoming electric models. Its battery pack sits under the van’s floor between its axles, and its 286 lb permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, delivering 295 lb feet of torque (available in either 100 or 150 kw variants), sits alongside the electric rear axle. The batteries are LFP (lithium ferro-phosphate) and nickel- and cobalt-free. Drivers can select three driving modes—comfort, eco and extended range, and one of five energy recuperation modes. Estimated range is 273 miles, which varies based on driving style, weather, etc. AC and DC charging is supported, and the ports are accessed behind the Mercedes-Benz star in the grille. Specified maintenance is included for the first four service visits over four years, or up to 100,000 miles.

Learn more at Merceds-Benz Vans.

Podcast Design

Maximilian Büsser: Design Tangents Episode Eleven

The punk rock provocateur of Swiss watchmaking on creating to fulfill your own desires

Josh Rubin, Evan Orensten

7 February 2024

Our latest Design Tangents podcast guest, Maximilian Büsser (who we have known for more than 15 years) is nothing less than a renegade in the very traditional Swiss watch world. As the founder of MB&F he’s continued to surprise and delight watch and clock collectors globally with his visionary pieces—and draw attention to historic partners. In 2014, Büsser was the subject of a COOL HUNTING Video, and one year later we collaborated with the pioneering provocateur on a COOL HUNTING Edition Starfleet Machine. His work manages to be both futuristic and nostalgic—bound by a sense of wonder. Celebrating Swiss watchmaking, human craftsmanship, and mechanical art, MB&F’s creations are much more than time-telling machines (though they do that too).

Büsser began in the traditional watch industry. As a child, he thought he’d be a car designer and studied engineering. However, he ended up at the prestigious maison Jaeger-LeCoultre, back when it was a small brand and at a time when the world did not know what to do with mechanical watches. After seven years at Jaeger-LeCoultre, several as its CEO, he moved to luxury powerhouse Harry Winston, where he began to amass considerable success. “Watchmaking saved me,” he tells us. “It gave me a family. It gave me a life. It gave me a purpose,” he says.

However, there was a disconnect between his success at Harry Winston, his relationship to his own father, and his desire to do what he believes in and be proud of it. He started to imagine a small, disruptive company of his own. In 2005, he stepped away from the mainstream and began to redefine what watches could be. “MB&F is a life decision,” he tells us. “It is not a business decision.”

Büsser is full of advice. “Stop creating to please people. Try to create for yourself,” the entrepreneur says. “That’s not something you’re brought up on. I want to create something that I love.” Büsser adds that, at first, he didn’t know what he loved and part of the process with MB&F has been uncovering it. To learn more about what’s inspired him, how he has upended the industry and what he hopes for the future of the brand, listen in to Design Tangents now.

Subscribe to Design Tangents on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify, so that when each episode comes out it’ll be ready and waiting in your player of choice.

Design Tangents is presented by Genesis and produced and edited by SANDOW Design Group. Special thanks to the podcast production team: Rob Schulte and Rachel Senatore and to Amber Lin for creating our show art. Discover more design podcasts from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com.

Read Design

Interview: Zona Maco Founder Zélika García

Insight on the twenty years of developments that have led to the acclaimed art fair’s 2024 edition

David Graver

5 February 2024

As international artists, art collectors and gallerists arrive to Mexico City for the 2024 edition of Latin America’s leading art fair, Zona Maco, they’ll continue a cultural conversation that began when one artist asked one question more than twenty years ago. Upon her graduation from the University of Monterrey, with a degree in the arts, Zélika García wanted to know why Mexico no longer had an international art fair. Refusing to accept the answer she commonly received—that there wasn’t a market—she founded her own. What began as Muestra in Monterrey transformed into Mexico City’s Zona Maco. Over the last two decades, García has established Zona Maco as an inspiring stop on the annual arts calendar and introduced the world to the strength of Mexican and Latin American art, artists and galleries. To learn more about the exponential growth of the fair, the Mexican contemporary art scene, surprises from the 2024 edition and her dreams for the future, we sat down with García for further insight.

Looking back, twenty years in, can you share your path from artist to art fair founder?

It wasn’t planned. I was really happy producing art. That’s why I visited Guadalajara Art Fair, to go see the galleries and to go to the program and the talks. That art fair opened my eyes to a new world. It was the first international fair I ever visited. After I graduated college and after I just had a baby, I tried to go back to the Guadalajara Art Fair but I heard that it closed. I kept asking why there were no other international art fairs in Mexico. No one believed that people would buy art in Mexico. So, I tried to start my own.

I started Muestra en Maco México Arte Contemporáneo in Monterrey. It was a success, though most of those galleries were from Mexico, with maybe one from London and another from New York. We then moved to Mexico City. I had met Pablo del Val, who is now artistic director of Art Dubai. He started helping us with our VIP program and later became our artistic director. The fair got a selection committee. We hired curators to help with the overall vision. We changed the name to Zona Maco to make it an official art fair and not just an experiment. That’s how it all began in 2004.

Why is it important to showcase international art alongside work by Mexican artists? Are both integral to your vision?

We have such an interesting art scene in Mexico. We have for many, many years. We also have all these museums and private collections. There are so many galleries, too. These galleries have changed our culture. Some, which are no longer around any longer, started in the 1950s. Some were the first to show Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and all of the artists that are now famous around the world. I

t’s important to support the local Mexican galleries—but I also know that international collectors who go to art fairs love to see international galleries and international art. A lot of these collectors are also interested in seeing Mexican artists that they cannot see elsewhere. Some of our galleries only show at Zona Maco. It’s a good mix for our visitors.

The world is looking toward Mexico for cultural guidance and inspiration—from food and drink to art and design. Have you observed this change—where the world once overlooked Mexico and now all eyes are on Mexican culture?

A few people—collectors, and galleries—have been with Zona Maco since the beginning, all twenty years. But more and more attention has come to Mexico and the fair. I think it has to do with the platform that the fair created, where Mexican galleries started building relationships with international galleries and curators. This has allowed Mexican artists to present in other art fairs and museums around the world. Our own galleries started to bring international artists to Mexico for residencies and projects.

A lot of artists have also moved to Mexico. International galleries who have been working with us for years have also opened spaces up in Mexico. This has meant that Mexican galleries have had to improve because there’s more competition. The big Mexican galleries, the spaces that visitors tour now, they didn’t exist seven or 10 years ago. These are recent developments. The art was always good, but having a proper space to exhibit the art lets the artist present bigger and better projects.

Can visitors expect something different for the 2024 Zona Maco?

Every year we try to do something different. In 2021, we couldn’t do the fair at the convention center so we presented Zona Maco art week in different galleries and smaller venues and design spaces around Mexico City. We had one location where everyone could get together because it was an outdoor space, Casa Ortega, a house by architect Luis Barragan. We invited different artists to collaborate in the outdoor garden.

Last year, we created Art Baja California and we did the Zona Maco Patio to try to repeat the success of the outdoor exhibition we organized in 2021. A project we planned for this year with the artistic director of Zona Maco, Direlia Lazo, is called Forma. It is inspired by Patio. Direlia invited the galleries that have participated in most editions of the fair to install special interventions and site-specific works inside the fair, not in booths but hanging from the ceiling or hiding somewhere or right in the middle of everything. They were either made for the fair or will be exhibited in Mexico for the first time. This will be a surprise for viewers. We are also working with Cuervo—1800 Tequila has been our sponsor for 20 years. They give an award every year, where they acquire a piece from new artist. They are doing a special exhibition inside the fair to showcase some of the works that they’ve bought over the years. Some of those unknown artists that they acquired 18 years ago are very well known today.

What are your goals 20 years in? Or is there a new dream for the fair?

When I started Zona Maco, I did not imagine it would grow so much—but it did. After the early success of the art fair, we started to see a need for design. We created another fair, Zona Maco Design. A few years later, we had all the antique galleries in Mexico looking to join, so we created another fair dedicated to antiques. Finally, we debuted the photography fair. We now have four fairs simultaneously in the convention center, separate and yet in the same space. We want to maintain the quality. We do not want to make a bigger fair, we want to make a better fair.

Would you bring Zona Maco to another city in the way that other fairs have multiple locations?

As of now, I’m not interested in doing the fair somewhere else. I think there are enough art fairs. We need to focus on making this one better than ever, but not do more. Art Baja California is a new idea. It’s not an art fair. It’s a festival. There are different galleries and different artists. It’s fresh. I feel like we are producing it like how I began Zona Maco in Mexico City 20 years ago. It will take more than a few years but I believe it can become very important for the local community, the Baja California community, where there are already so many local artists and visitors.

Is there guidance you’d offer to someone visiting Zona Maco for the first time?

I would plan to spend an entire day there. We have 15 restaurants inside the fair because we are in a city with so much traffic that leaving for lunch is too crazy. To make it fun, we will have DJs on the terrace. There is tequila and champagne. I would also attend as many gallery openings around Mexico City as possible because they’ve planned so many special events. They’ve been working on them for a year. All the spaces are so different. You could drive to San Miguel Chapultepec and walk to all of the galleries. Then go to Condesa and walk. On another day, I would go to all the museums. We have so many important museums—Tamayo, Jumex, Artes, the Museum of Modern Art, Anthropology, MUAC. It’s endless.

Is there anything about the fair that people might not know that you hope they’ll pay attention to?

We have a selection committee in the main section with all of the galleries. Each of the rest of the sections have a dedicated curator. Looking at these sections is not just looking at the galleries within, but it’s having the opportunity to see 20 or 40 artists in one section that have been chosen by one person who has dedicated a lot of time to together one vision. It’s like going to a museum show but in booths throughout a fair. It’s particular interesting in the young artist section. You have a preselected body of work by a renowned curator who is putting this in front of you—and then you have the opportunity to buy it.