Matter and Movement: A Carved Tribute to Porsche
July 2025
Matter and Movement: A Carved Tribute to Porsche
A collaboration between Casa Garage and Galrão
More than a material, stone is history, identity and expression. In this collaboration with Italian studio CasaGarage, Grupo Galrão has taken this vision to the limit: a marble sculpture inspired by the grille of a Porsche, carved from a monolithic block weighing over a ton.
The result is a piece of rare precision and technical complexity, the fruit of painstaking work, where every detail required skill, sensitivity and absolute mastery of the material. Presented at Milan Design Week, this work has become a manifesto for a new way of thinking about luxury, time and matter. In this interview, we reveal the backstage of the creative process and the partnership that made this encounter between engineering, art and emotion possible.
Giacomo Lazzaro and Edoardo Antonelli (CasaGarage)
How did CasaGarage come about, and what role does it play today at the intersection of design and automotive culture?
CasaGarage is an interior design studio dedicated to creating and furnishing spaces for car collectors and enthusiasts, as well as for racing teams and dealership showrooms. Each CasaGarage is born from meticulous attention to the client’s needs, in-depth study of the intended design, and integration of the space with the cars on display. CasaGarage makes the dream of an entire automotive culture possible, redefining how we see cars by interpreting them as true design objects and rethinking the environment that surrounds them.
What can you tell us about the project you presented at Milan Design Week? What ideas and inspirations shaped it?
This sculpture was born from a monolithic block of marble weighing over a tonne, worked with precision to reveal an icon of the automotive world. The piece unites two seemingly distant universes — the classical tradition of sculpture and the engineering design of automobiles — to create a bridge between past and future.
Why did you choose the Porsche grille as the central element of the exhibition, and what symbolic role does it play in the project?
This element represents an icon of automotive history — an unforgettable aesthetic detail for enthusiasts and a stylistic reference point for decades. There could be no better choice for a piece intended to be a lasting testament to a chapter of automotive history.
The marble in this piece is not just a material but part of its story. What symbolic role did you give it, and what message did you want to convey with that choice?
Just as ancient civilizations told their stories through immortal statues, this piece aims to celebrate automotive culture with a modern icon, elevating it to the status of eternal art. The choice of marble, a noble and timeless material, underscores our intention to pass this passion down through generations, carved in stone as a living memory. Part of the block was intentionally left rough, just as it came from the quarry, in homage to Michelangelo’s idea: “The sculpture is already inside the stone; the artist’s work is simply to free it.”
Bringing Grupo Galrão and CasaGarage together was not an obvious choice. What led you to combine the world of marble with the automotive universe?
We wanted to create something new that would help change how automotive culture is often perceived. This incredible world brings together enthusiasts of all ages and from all over the globe, united by a shared love of cars. To show how some cars go far beyond being mere “design objects” and reach the status of true works of art, we wanted to create a real sculpture.
How did you discover Grupo Galrão, and what convinced you they were the right partner for this sculpture?
The quality and variety of their marbles and finishes immediately won us over. And it only took one dinner with Paulo for us to be certain that Grupo Galrão was exactly what we were looking for.
Choosing the right marble was the first challenge. What criteria mattered most — visual impact, technical properties, or the symbolism of the stone?
The choice of marble was guided by both technical and aesthetic factors: first, we needed a block with the right veining and size to highlight its natural beauty, even in the unfinished part deliberately left as the base of the sculpture. Then we selected the specific color and pattern that best suited the chosen theme.
Visiting a quarry is experiencing the material at its source. How did you feel encountering its scale and raw power?
It was an incredible experience; the scale of some of the quarries is truly impressive, and the variety of materials you can see there is simply breathtaking.
How would you describe working with the Galrão team? What kind of collaboration was needed to transform an idea into an object of devotion?
The project wasn’t easy, but Galrão supported us whenever we needed it while also giving us the total creative freedom we required. Going from an idea to a sketch and then to a 3D model was just the beginning. Everything was created and adapted to be worked in the most efficient way possible, then finished, polished, and perfected down to the smallest detail. And above all, we only had one chance to get it right — and together with Galrão, we managed to do it.
The piece was unveiled at Milan Design Week. What reactions did you receive, and was there any moment that stayed with you?
The feedback, both during and after the event, was incredible: there was a mix of amazement and disbelief. Some people were thrilled to see something so unexpected and beautiful, while others just had to touch the material, still in shock that what they were seeing could really be a marble sculpture.
Did this project open new creative doors for you? How might it shape your work going forward?
It was a wonderful project that will undoubtedly influence our creative possibilities and help us take our design work even further.
Marble carries weight, history, and presence. What does this kind of material add to a design piece in the 21st century?
Marble immediately gives an object a greater sense of importance and exclusivity. And with today’s advanced processing techniques, we can create pieces with exceptional material and aesthetic quality. It’s an essential material for anyone who wants to create high-quality design.
