The Broca Side Table highlights the distinctive pattern left by stone machinery, specifically the cylindrical extraction of stone. It reveals the negative imprint remaining in the marble blocks after core drilling. This pattern, born from a traditional technique, becomes a unique and characteristic decorative element.
Broca Side Table
Movimento Gallery
2025
An exercise in marble machinery and techniques of extracting marble in a cylinder format
Our interest in core drilling derives from our very first quarry visits in Italy, where we observed numerous cylindrical shapes and boreholes etched into the landscape. We learned that the "carotaggio" extraction method is essential for guiding and optimizing the extraction of large stone blocks by providing a detailed understanding of the rock mass. Discovering how massive blocks of stone are extracted from the mountainside was a fascinating learning experience of time-old techniques and a culture of knowledge of those who have been working with stone for generations.
Subsequently, our residency with Marmoles Covarrubius in Guadalajara, Mexico, provided an extraordinary opportunity to engage directly with stone machinery utilizing cylindrical extraction. Distinct from the analytical "carotaggio" we observed in Italy, this application focused on hollowing out substantial blocks to lessen their weight. Our focus was on the resulting aesthetic left behind during this method of extraction – a unique graphic imprint formed by the absence of the cylindrical material, a "negative" that became a form of decoration in itself.
Back in Italy, with Movimento Gallery, we explored yet another similar machinery process that extracts cylinders using core drilling methods on a smaller scale. This artistic interpretation creates a decorative border on the domestic objects present in the collection.