They arrive: packed sculptures, objects, pieces, chairs still to be arranged – elements that gradually emerge and begin to find their place, their balance, almost forming a relationship with one another. The sculptures arrive disassembled, broken down into parts, and are put together on the spot, assembled directly in the space following Marras’s instructions, in a process that is both construction and interpretation.

They are not materials; they are objects; they are sculptures.

Many of these elements come from core samples – concrete samples taken from actual structures, bridges, infrastructure and buildings – to test their strength; they are technical samples, fragments used to determine whether something is structurally sound, and which are then discarded, set aside and forgotten.

This is where the turnaround happens.

These pieces, created to be examined and discarded, return, bringing with them an urban past – a memory shaped by pressure, burden and time – and within the space of Nonostante Marras, they undergo a transformation.

The project is by Marras; it stems from his sketches, his intuitions and a constant stream of ideas, whilst its realisation takes shape thanks to the work of Giuseppe Pappadà, who translates that vision into a tangible structure, bringing to life what initially existed only in the imagination.

Concrete – weathered, exposed, worn – takes on a whole new dimension; it becomes something around which people sit, talk, spend time and build relationships, and that is exactly what will happen during the Salone del Mobile.

From the city to the home, from function to connection.

At that point, the concrete ceases to be merely concrete and becomes rhythm, almost music, because the surfaces are never the same: smooth on one side and rough on the other, imperfect yet deliberately so, as if every object were a musical score and every variation a note.

Antonio Marras has always done this: he takes something from one context and transports it elsewhere, until it becomes something else entirely.

A rough material that becomes soft.

You can find the short version of the interview on Instagram, and the full version on YouTube.