Palmalisa Zantedeschi

For Palmalisa Zantedeschi, stone is not only a material but also a source of inspiration for her artistic practice and reflection for her research. A descendant of a family of stonemasons and sculptors for as many as four generations, Zantedeschi defines herself as a ‘creative of marble’. She works with stone and sculpts it into works of art and design in her studio near Lake Garda.

It is the evolution of a family trade that she has known since childhood, when she was fascinated by the discovery of an unexpected beauty that nature reveals in every detail, as well as the connection with the formative processes that develop in the slow flow of time on Earth.

As an artisan and entrepreneur, she has used the material for architectural and design projects, observing day after day the different declinations in the stone materials arriving in Verona from all over the globe. She has travelled the world in search of new stone quarries, selecting blocks and slabs with which to experiment and develop increasingly customised and ‘tailor-made’ elements.

A path – personal and professional – that leads her to a different sensitivity, a vibration in unison with nature that highlights how each fragment of matter has an intrinsic life that manifests itself through apparent randomness of colours, proportions, dimensions. From these reflections, her collectible objects and her experimentation in Art are born.

As an artisan and entrepreneur, she has used the material for architectural and design projects, observing day after day the different declinations in the stone materials arriving in Verona from all over the globe. She has travelled the world in search of new stone quarries, selecting blocks and slabs with which to experiment and develop increasingly customised and ‘tailor-made’ elements.

A path – personal and professional – that leads her to a different sensitivity, a vibration in unison with nature that highlights how each fragment of matter has an intrinsic life that manifests itself through apparent randomness of colours, proportions, dimensions. From these reflections, her collectible objects and her experimentation in Art are born.

If the primary sphere of her research is the material, it is the technique with which she works on it that has opened the door to another vision, the identification of the physical gesture of subtraction, of reducing to the essence with the creative gesture that belongs to art. The stone is transformed through processing, revealing different characteristics step after step, becoming now rough, solid, now soft, light, poetic. For Zantedeschi, this is the beginning of an experimentation that also leads her to use paper and silk, living materials – like stone –  risulting in works such as ‘Tiepolo’, exhibited during Milan Design Week 2022. Zantedeschi’s poetics and her talent for combining different disciplines, techniques and materials converge in this work. Here is what she told us about herself, her path and her work:

How did the idea of declining stone through light materials such as silk or paper come about?

On close observation, stone reveals the many aspects of its nature, apparently hard, solid, heavy, in truth, being a living material, it expresses itself through multiple declinations until it becomes almost impalpable like silk, paper.

What are the sources of inspiration for your work?

Nature and art are both closely related. Inspiration is a moment to be grasped, it has no programming, it simply manifests itself. I have been working for years on this concept, which takes shape through a collection of subtle expressions of stone. ‘Incanto‘ was born almost as a game and has become a real collection.

What was the genesis of the artwork from the idea to the realisation process and the finished piece?

I have always loved travelling, intrigued and enchanted by the beauty of the earth and the history of our Humanity. The two aspects are inseparable, the earth generates beauty that man absorbs, nourishing himself, a timeless, inseparable relationship, according to some the most ancient Archetype. I was born into a family that has worked stone for generations, mine was not a life choice but rather it was spontaneously my destiny.

Moving are the encounters with the ancient Japanese world to which I look with respect and admiration for the innate ability of synthesis, seeing beauty through the gesture that contains the whole world fills me with joy. The ‘Tiepolo’ screen takes its cue from this world, the stone becomes a barely noticeable whisper that marries other natural forms such as silk, paper, cancelling their material limits, a sort of conciliation between opposites.

Is this first work a model for a design line or a unique work?

Stones are often non-repeatable geological elements. The choice of stone is more intuitive. It requires time, observation and maturation.

How will this project evolve?

I believe in this project, I am thinking of a small collection, I would like to raise awareness through social projects, to re-gift what the earth has so generously been giving me for so many years.

Evolution is often difficult to determine, those who do this job know that they are never finished learning, and that every small discovery opens up new possibilities.