Casigliani Biography
Maurizio Casigliani has always believed in the correctness of an operation which, although attractive, required some preliminary ideological clarifications, definition of objectives and rigor in the production methodology. His meeting with Lella and Massimo Vignelli at the end of the 70s allowed him to open a discussion that continues to this day. The Metafora 1 table is born, which anticipates and incorporates some constant characteristics in Casigliani's production. The Vignellis made a crucial choice: to work on primary shapes, using marble to build the bases of the table, which are a cube, a sphere, a cylinder and a pyramid. The design gesture, as can be seen, is very simple and might seem reductive: these forms were certainly not invented by the two authors. But the context, however, is new because the design takes into account a series of factors and effects that derive from it. Overall, considering the general physiognomy, or rather the spirit that informs it beyond the specific style of the many models, Casigliani's production reveals that the attention to marble is a decisive element. All the designers, from Vignelli to Stoppino, from Lazzotti to Tesconi, contribute to clarifying another point of Casigliani's philosophy, which becomes a constant theme of common poetics. We also return to considering the type of marble used, because each marble can be enhanced by specific treatments, working the surfaces to obtain differentiated, opaque, semi-gloss and reflective textures. Casigliani's past now constitutes a recognizable tradition in the history of forms created in marble in the last twenty years as an expression of our authentic culture. But from this past made up not only of results, but also of experiences completed and matured "in the field", we are moving towards a future open to new research and typologies, without abandoning the foundations we have talked about. Casigliani is also encouraging its business through the contribution of new design and creative energies. Ideas and proposals are evaluated, tested and compared; the validity of the solutions is checked from a technological and formal point of view; the meaning of the images and their physiognomy are discussed. A work with many voices and many hands, aimed at guaranteeing the correctness of the final choices, which can only be achieved thanks to the contribution of the disciplinary skills ideally and operationally involved in the production process.
