Articles by: Mila Tenaglia

  • Art & Culture

    When Art Is in Your Blood



      “When I was a little girl, my father, Antonio, often took me to Piazza di Spagna, to the home of Giorgio De Chirico, a rather unusual and eccentric man. I remember their long encounters in that beautiful house, the view of the piazza… That ancient Rome that once belonged to the great artists like De Chirico and Guttuso doesn’t exist anymore.”

    This passion for art has evolved in different ways over time, since each member of the Porcella family brought their own talent depending on the era in which they lived. Gloria’s great grandfather, Alpinolo, was an artist and an important member of the Roman elite, while her grandfather, Amadore, was an historian and critic of 16th and 17th century art. In the 1970s her father, Antonio, opened the Ca’ d’Oro gallery in Rome, a city that was then the center of the world – totally different from today. It was a Rome of a different social fabric, anchored to the art of the great and ancient masters of the past, not particularly well known for its contemporary art market.
     
    Gloria, in turn, has taken her expertise beyond the Roman walls, offering it to an international audience by moving the gallery overseas and coming to the United States.


     
    The Power of Public Art
    “I remember when I studied the art of my homeland, Italy, in San Diego. It was an incredible experience and it shaped me as a person. But the greatest lessons about art and life came from my family; through the things that I saw and experienced, because really the most important thing in this craft is the eye. You must know how to choose, identify and recognize valid artists.”
    Gloria’s grit and passion have pushed her to carry out projects that she would once have never even dreamed about, and she tells us that she isn’t afraid of anything anymore. As proof of the eclecticism and dynamism of her journey, just behind us there is a sculpture by Andrea Stanislav of a life-sized horse adorned with diamonds.


     
    Yet her challenge is not just to bring artists from all around the world to her gallery, but to get sculptures especially outside into the open-air where “unlike at museums, people must have a reaction – be it positive or negative. I am a pioneer of public art, in 1997 I built a huge installation at Piazza di Spagna and everyone was very surprised.”

     
    Then, in the first few years of this millennium Gloria went international. She opened two galleries in eastern Berlin and was also involved in shows in Montecarlo that were inaugurated in the square by Prince Albert. And, in 2011, she organized the first biennial Festival of Sculpture in Rome (“but Roman politicians destroyed everything. It was disgraceful,” she recalls with a tone of resignation).
     

    To Miami, via Sicily
    Also during this period Gloria took her first step towards Miami via Sicily. In 2009 she was an advisor for Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo and was commissioned to organize an installation show for the G8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Ortigia, Siracusa. The symbol of G8 was a blue tortoise, and on that occasion the Minister had managed to renovate the Ortigia Castle and open it for foreign delegations. “I selected some artists, among which there was a group called Cracking Art, five Italians and a Belgian who create installations with recyclable and recycled plastic; they filled the castle with so many little blue tortoises, it was fantastic!”


     
    That idea also turned out to be a good fit for Miami, where she had just opened a new branch of the Ca’ d’Oro gallery.  “I had never been to America but I told myself that I could do it, and so I did. In 2010 I filled Miami Beach with giant, fuchsia snails.” She smiles, “even though I have brought so many projects and installations to Miami since then, I am still remembered there as the snail woman!”
     
    New York, the new world capital of art
    Today Ca’ d’Oro is located in the heart of Chelsea, in one of the most important buildings for hosting art exhibitions. There it organizes different kinds of exhibits; from visual installations, to sculptures and paintings, to furniture made from recycled materials.


     
    “All my clients who buy art in Miami are New Yorkers and for a long time I had wanted to dive into what is the new cradle of contemporary art. And what better place than New York, the center of the art world?” Compared to the Miami gallery, which is more focused on European and Italian artists, here in New York she wanted to reflect the cosmopolitan vision of the city by bringing artists from all over the world. “It wouldn’t be fair to do exhibitions with only Italians! Yet Italian culture,” Gloria is keen to stress, “has served me very well in my international experience and I owe this to my family and to their teachings.”
     


    One of the innovations introduced by her New York gallery sounds very Italian. Indeed Ca’ d’Oro has a different system of opening that doesn’t include the classic Thursdays, when you usually have so many people in attendance, but sometimes at the expense of quality. Ca’ d’Oro does it on Wednesdays, instead. “I make dinner in the gallery; I cook Italian dishes and I put out seats for about 35-36 people. The guests enjoy food, good company and works of art.” 


     
    We are left with the promise that the i-Italy team will come soon to savor some of her dishes and she gives us a small introduction to the next show in August. In a true summer tone, there will be a spectacular show by Alberto Lucarecchi—an exceptional photographer and one of the greatest shark biologists, living on a boat for 6 months per year. There will be photographs and the biggest shark in the world mummified… “If we manage to get it through the door…” says Gloria. But knowing her strength of will, we are sure they will manage it. 



     
     

     
  • Arte e Cultura

    Design come strumento di critica sociale

    Come viene percepito e visto negli Stati Uniti il design italiano? Lo abbiamo chiesto a uno dei maestri più rappresentativi e provocatori di questo campo, Gaetano Pesce. Il maestro risponde riflettendo sul significato profondo del design come commento della realtà diventando innovazione e sperimentazione. Concetti inizialmente nuovi per il pubblico americano che ha da subito apprezzato il design italiano, in particolar modo quello “radicale” del maestro Pesce. Perche’ “La diversità è una delle grandi qualità del nostro momento e noi in quanto individui siamo responsabili di noi stessi”. Naturalmente abbiamo anche approfittato per parlare dei nuovi progetti...

    Gaetano Pesce e’ un artista la cui dimensione politica e sociale lo ha portato a essere sempre avanti con i tempi e ancora oggi rappresenta una icona indiscussa di avanguardia e al tempo stesso di creatività. E’ riconosciuto in tutto il mondo per avere legato intimamente la sua italianità al modo di esprimersi e lo ha fatto senza avere peli sulla lingua, provocando il mercato dell’arte e della cultura. Design e’ anche esplorazione dei problemi esistenziali. Talvolta lo ha espresso anche senza nascondere il suo disappunto nei confronti del Bel Paese come la famosaItalia in Croce del 2010.

    Perchè per Gaetano Pesce arte e design significano anche partecipazione, appartenenza alla polis. Nel suo lavoro mira ad unire l’esigenza pratica a un messaggio filosofico, politico o esistenziale. Ed è qui che il design accresce la sua portata culturale: “Quando invece di creare semplicemente un oggetto pratico, qualcosa che serve per sedersi o mangiare, riusciamo anche a far pensare,” ci dice. “è quello alla fine il ruolo dell’arte”.

    Lei è uno dei maggiori esponenti del design italiano in particolare del “design radicale”. E’ una definizione che le piace? Lei è noto per essere un grande "provocatore". 

    Le risposte non le devo dare io, ma eventualmente il pubblico cui il mio lavoro è dedicato. Se essere radicale significa guardare in avanti e sperimentare, allora lo sono. Quanto ad essere provocatorio, non lo faccio per partito preso; la provocazione sottintende la novità, l’invenzione e la scoperta, e in certi casi mi è capitato di esserlo.

    Nel 1972 lei fu tra i partecipanti alla famosa mostra presso il Museum of Modern Art intitolata Italy: The New Domestic Landscape. Fu proprio in occasione di quella mostra che venne coniato il termine “made in Italy” come simbolo di qualità e di unicità. Ci racconta di quella mostra e di cosa significò per lei, per il design italiano, e per l’immagine dell’Italia negli USA?

    Quella mostra è stata estremamente importante per fissare il contributo dell’Italia come pietra miliare nella storia del design. A distanza di 44 anni, il design italiano resta il più importante, a causa dei creativi, certo, ma soprattutto degli industriali. Per me quella mostra è stato l’inizio di un modo di considerare il design come commento della realtà; secondo me, continua ad essere così e lo sarà sempre di più. In altre parole, Design come Arte. Ho sempre pensato che il Design sarebbe diventato l’arte del futuro, il che non è ancora detto ma se ne parla sempre di più. Lo pensavo alla fine degli anni ‘60 e continuo a crederci ancora oggi. La realtà del Design è quella di essere portatore di una cultura molto più vasta.

    Qual è la percezione del design italiano al di fuori del nostro paese? In particolare, come viene vissuto e avvertito negli USA? Secondo lei abbiamo ancora qualcosa da “insegnare” al mondo?

    Il design negli Stati Uniti non è Design, ma re-design, cioè una ripetizione di qualcosa di già visto, oppure un prodotto derivato dal marketing. Sono convinto che l’Italia, invece, resti di gran lunga il paese che più si avvicina al Design come espressione di un progetto innovativo.

    Dal 1983 lei frequenta New York regolarmente, ci vive, ci lavora e qui ha realizzato molte opere che fanno ormai parte della città e della sua anima italiana — dall’architettura all’oggettistica e agli arredi. Alcune delle opere da lei realizzate sono esposte presso i grandi musei di questa città, tra cui il MoMA e il Metropolitan. Ci indica una sua opera newyorkese a cui a cui e’ più affezionato? Una che possiamo consigliare ai nostri lettori?

    Ce ne sono due, una realizzata e l’altra no. La prima è il “Tramonto a New York” del 1981, un divano che parlava dell’identità di una città probabilmente in decadenza. L’altra è un progetto che ho fatto dopo il 2001, quando le Torri Gemelle vennero distrutte da degli imbecilli. La mia idea rispondeva al pessimismo dell’atto terroristico con un’immagine ottimistica, un’espressione positiva che utilizzava, il logo I love NY faceva di un progetto architettonico un’immagine popolare amata dal mondo intero.

    L’architettura è un’altra sua grande passione. Tra i suoi tanti progetti, come è nata l'idea di presentare alla città di Padova il progetto per la Torre Porta Molino? Si tratta di una proposta che vuole valorizzazione il territorio attraverso l'arte. Ci racconta cosa e' successo? Come procede?

    A Padova ho fatto il liceo, quindi conoscevo da tempo questa torre dove Galileo aveva elaborato le sue teorie e scoperte, e mi chiedevo da molto tempo perché Padova non celebrasse Galileo in modo da attirare visitatori e far conoscere al mondo che questo grande genio nostrano aveva passato li una importante parte della sua vita. Più recentemente ho affrontato il problema dedicandomi di più alla realizzazione di un progetto, che si chiama “Padova Onora Galileo”, di messa in valore del luogo dove ha effettuato le sue scoperte. Prossimamente presenterò alla giunta comunale il risultato di questo lavoro. Spero verrà accettato e così vi sarà una nuova attrazione  tra le molte ricchezze straordinarie di Padova, prima tra tutte la Cappella degli Scrovegni. 

    Vorrei anche aggiungere che in passato l’Italia realizzava progetti che erano seguiti e copiati nel mondo intero per la loro forza innovativa, vedi la Cappella del Brunelleschi o il classicismo di Palladio. Mi chiedo perché questo non avvenga più nel nostro paese e si assiste invece a delle costruzioni che appartengono più alla categoria dell’edilizia che a quella dell’architettura.

    Che consiglio darebbe a un giovane che vuole intraprendere una carriera come la sua?

    Di essere curioso e di non essere conservatore.
  • Fatti e Storie

    Da Eataly una vera immersione nel Friuli Venezia Giuglia

    Si dice che il Friuli sia “un piccolo compendio dell'universo, alpestre piano e lagunoso in sessanta miglia da tramontana a mezzodì…”. Cosi amava scrivere nel primo capitolo de Le confessioni di un italiano il giornalista e patriota dell’800 Ippolito Nievo. A distanza di un paio di secoli anche l’assessore alle risorse agricole e forestali Shaurli ha voluto rappresentare con queste parole la ricca regione del Friuli Venezia Giulia.

    Una sfida ben riuscita quella di portare per un mese da Eataly NY e Chicago le specificita’ agroalimentari di una terra come ilFriuli. Fondamentali per la riuscita gli uffici della regione che lavorano nel tessuto socio economico e produttivo del territorio inseime a  confindustria e le camere di commercio

    L’obiettivo quello di far conoscere la ricchezza dei prodotti agroalimentari nel mondo e far avvicinare alla  straordinaria varieta’ di questa regione. Dino Borri .......   conferma la riuscita del progetto, nato per quasi per caso in una cena,  reso possibile anche dal prezioso connubio di talento e creativita’ del team di Eataly e al buon lavoro che ha fatto si che 58 delle aziende del Friuli VeneziaGiulia siano oggi presenti nel mercato statunitense.

    “Il successo e’ stato incredibile e abbiamo addirittura gia’ finito dei prodotti sia nello store di NY che di Chicago. Manca solo ma 'madrina' de la grande scuola, Lidia Bastianich che purtroppo oggi non e’ potuta essere presente ma ha incontrato il Presidente in un'altra occasione” racconta Dino Borri.

    “E’ stato per noi un successo, abbiamo fatto sistema per presentarci uniti, come una sorta di collettivo. Questo à uno dei segreti del successo. Siamo orgogliosi dei nostri prodotti che non sono solo quelli famosi che forse conoscete tutti come il prosciutto san Daniele, il caffe’ e i grandi vini che, come dice Joe bastianich, 'i migliori vini bianchi sono i friulani' ” ci dice l’assessore durante la presentazione a la Scuola Grande. E prosegue: “Il pubblico americano anche grazie a Eataly sta conoscendo i prodotti italiani. Sta scoprendo non un cibo 'massificato' ma delle peculiarita' di nicchia. Parliamo di eccellenze alimentari che la nostra regione produce.  una piccola punta di prodotti specifici e non colture totalizzanti” 

    E a proposito di eccellenze agroalimentari non manca quella del Caffe’ di cui Trieste e’ la riconosicuta capitale. In vista dell’ottava edizione della TriestEspresso Expo (20- 22 ottobre) il Presidente della Camera di Commercio Antonio Paoletti,  la presidente della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia Debora Serracchiani, hanno riassunto gli incoraggianti numeri a testimoniare una crescita di termini di importo.

    “Ben l’80% degli spazi espositivi sono già stati opzionati a conferma dell’importanza a livello internazionale dell’unico evento biennale che rappresenta l’intera filiera del caffè espresso, dal caffè verde, alle macchine, ai servizi per i torrefattori e i baristi. Dato che il 43% dei visitatori sono general manager, presidenti o proprietari di aziende operanti nel settore del caffè. L'86% dei visitatori ha un ruolo attivo nei processi d'acquisto e il 68% di loro cerca nuovi prodotti o fornitori. Sono queste percentuali che fanno di TriestEspresso Expo il più importante evento b2b focalizzato sulla filiera del caffè espresso a livello europeo. E in America stiamo crescendo moltissimo con le esportazione del nostro caffe’ “ prosegue il Presidente.

    “L’obiettivo delle camere di commercio “ afferma Paoletti “ e' quello di rappresentare i nostri prodotti in un gioco di squadra attraverso una condivisione di questi nel mercato americano che abbiamo visto in passato avere valori significativi di incremento dell’esportazione.”

    Alla fine delle presentazioni e' stato possibile gustare alcuni di questi prodotti di nicchia e bere dei vini rossi e bianchi. Crostini con Ricotta, Asparagi, Prosciutto San Daniele DOP & Aceto Balsamico (Crostino with Lemon Whipped Ricotta, Asparagus, Prosciutto San Daniele & Balsamic Vinegar).  Frittelle Ripiene di Patate, Prosciutto San Daniele DOP & Piselli, Crostini con Purea di Fave & Montasio DOP, Polenta con Trota in Camicia rout, Bocconcini di Salsiccia Aromatizzati alla Mela. Una vera immersione!

    Ne corso di questo mese, grazie ad un accorto fortemente voluto da Lidia Bastianic, sarà possibile comprare e gustare moltissimi prodotti fruliani
  • Art & Culture

    Francesco Sapienza: When Photograph Means Happiness

    Rome as the guardian of a cultural and sentimental legacy, Stockholm to understand his own path and to grow, New York as the meeting point and the destination of Francesco Sapienza’s creative world. Three different cities that gave Francesco the required knowledge to understand that photography was the right path to follow.

    At age 24 Francesco did his first Erasmus in Sweden. “Stockholm’s a wonderful and avant-garde city. The success that Swedish people and companies boast worldwide ranges from sport to politics, from design to technology, and it is striking, considering its small population. There, good taste and minimalism prevail, and this is what I try to convey with my portraits,” says the photographer.

    Francesco’s artistic path it is not the same as that of many photographers. After attaining a degree in electronic engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and pursuing a career in the telecommunications field, he is a worldwide expert in 3G/4G networks. Francesco’s artistic path it is not the same as the one of many other photographers.

    At the beginning of 2000 he was teaching formation courses for the majority of Vodafone engineers in Italy and in other countries.

    “I have always tried to create situations that could make me happy, and this sometimes requires drastic changes. I made several, both in geographical and professional terms.” What does happiness mean to you?

    What does happiness mean to you? Francesco asked himself this question many times and in 2004, the passion for photography gained the upper hand, causing him to quit the job as an engineer in order to follow his real passion: portraiture.

    “A face and that’s it, you can barely see the background in my pictures, as they are so close-up. To me, it is the face that has to speak, that is why I love shooting my pictures in the studio, with only a white and gray background.”

    His philosophy is that “it is not your duty to be photogenic, is the photographer’s duty to make you photogenic. It is the photographer who must capture the soul of the subject, not vice versa. To me, there are no non-photogenic people, and my challenge is to take the responsibility to make everyone photogenic.

    “The power of a portrait is incredible,” he tells us. “It is the result of an infinity of small and big elements, going from the lighting to the choice of the equipment, from the environment that surrounds the subject to the way in which the photographer talks with the subject, and to the emotions that he is feeling at the moment.” For Francesco beauty is natural, “even a smirk,” and not necessarily only the look of the classical canon that nowadays the media provide. 

    So what better city than New York to be inspired by the faces and by the ethnicity of the places? “New York has an incredible energy that is impossible to explain with words. It is a place where you go only if you want to do something, and this mood creates a vortex of energy and creativity that I do not think you can find everywhere else. There is no other place in the world where I feel more comfortable.” His eyes are sparkling and his gaze is calm yet firm as he speaks.

    He tells us about his first working experiences with big brands and not only in the portraits field. “I have been working with Eataly for three years, and this is how I began with food photography. I am responsible for all the pictures from their online catalogue and of the first three editions of their book edited by Rizzoli (“How to Eataly,” or in Italian “I love Eataly”).

    “I was told that they were looking for a professional photographer for their catalogue and proposed. Once the interview was over, they gave me a bag with some products and said goodbye by saying: ‘Go home and show us something innovative that you can do.’ I had no idea how to create an innovation in a picture with a white background. One night, while I was taking pictures of a package of torrone, I decided to open it to see how it was made from the inside. I broke it into two parts and I took a close-up of the inside, with all the crumbs spread over the white table. I found it very beautiful, because it showed the product and not only the package. So I proposed to Eataly to shoot two photos for each product, one that showed the package and one that showed the opened product. They were enthusiastic about the idea, and I was charged with the task to photograph the first 500 products of their inventory.”

    In telling this he makes an odd but logical connection: Taking pictures of food can be like photographing models, and the final result does not only depend on you. “You also have to have food that is visually captivating (in fashion: the models) as well as some good food stylists and prop stylists (in fashion: fashion stylists and prop stylists).”

    He continues, “Recently I was commissioned by Smithsonian to do a book on uniforms and rare objects from the baseball world, a sport that I know nothing about and that I even find boring. I am working in close contact with the author of the book. His enormous energy and endless love for basketball, as well as his history, is wonderful and gives me a lot of inspiration.

    “Working with people passionate about what they do turns out to be very contagious for me, and it can make interesting also the projects that are not. We went together to visit the houses of some of the big collectors in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Hong Kong, in order to report on part of their collections. I took pictures of vintage T-shirts that are worth 

    millions of dollars each, and listening to the collectors and how they managed to buy the pieces they were looking for and seeing the passion in their eyes when they talk about it is something incredible.”

    Francesco Sapienza says goodbye to us, inviting us to go to his studio for a portrait and not to worry if a wrinkle will appear on our face, because it is part of our beauty.

    We are left charmed by his story and by his courage in having left a safe job to dedicate himself to art, even if, as he wants to make clear, “we have to consider it as a business and not only as an art. This means that you have to learn how to be an entrepreneur, with all that it is related to it. You have to know how to do everything, from accounting to marketing, public relations and so on.”
  • Art & Culture

    A Tool for Social Criticism

    Gaetano Pesce is an artist whose political stances have long kept him one step ahead of his time. Today he is an icon of the creative avant-garde, known around the world for the close link between his Italian background and his self- expression. Never one to hold his tongue, he frequently causes stirs in the art market. Design is also an exploration of existential problems;

    Pesce has expressed such concerns without hiding his disappointment in the Bel Paese, as in  his famous Italy on the Cross. For Pesce, art and design means engagement, means casting one’s lot with the people. In his work he strives to combine practical demands with a philosophical, political or existential message. That is how design acquires cultural relevance: “When instead of simply creating a practical object, something to sit on or eat with, we succeed in making people think,” says Pesce. “Ultimately that’s the role of art.”

    You are a major figure in Italian design, particularly “radical design.” Do you like that description? You’re known as being a great provocateur.
    I can’t be the one to answer that. That’s up to the public to whom my work is dedicated. If being radical means looking ahead and experimenting, then that’s me. As for being a provocateur, I don’t do it on principle; provocation implies novelty, invention and discovery, and sometimes I’ve happened to embody that.
     

    In 1972 you participated in a famous exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape.” On that occasion, the slogan Made in Italy was coined, a symbol of exceptional quality. Can you tell us about that exhibit and what it has meant for you, for Italian design, and for the image of Italy in the United States?
    That exhibit was extremely important in establishing Italy’s landmark contribution to the history of design. Looking back 44 years later, Italian design remains the most important, on account of its creative talent, sure, but more importantly its industries.

    For me, that exhibit was the start of a way of considering design as a comment on reality; in my opinion, that’s what it continues to be, and it will be more and more. In other words, design as art. I always thought design would become the art of the future, which isn’t a given yet but people talk that way more and more. I thought so at the end of the ‘60s and I believe so today. The situation of design is to usher in a far vaster culture.
     

    How is Italian design perceived outside our country, particularly in the US? Do you think we still have something to “teach” the world?
    Design in the United States
    isn’t design; it’s redesign, a reiteration of something already seen or a product derived from marketing. I’m convinced that Italy, on the other hand, has long been the country that comes closest to manifesting innovative design.
     

    Since 1983 you have been in New York regularly. You live here, work here, and have completed many projects that by now have become part of the city and its Italian spirit, from architecture to collectibles to furniture. Some of your work is on display in the city’s major museums, including MoMA and the Met. Is there a work of yours here you like most? One we might point out to our readers?
    There are two. One finished, the other not. The first is 1981’s New York Sunset, a sofa that speaks to the identity of a city that’s probably in decline. The other is a project I made after 2001, when the Twin Towers were destroyed by those imbeciles. My idea was to respond to the pessimism of terrorism with an image of optimism, a positive outlook using the “I Love New York” logo, an image beloved by the whole world.
     

    Architecture is another passion of yours. How did you come up with the idea for the Porta Molino tower in Padua? Your proposal for the project sought to use art to pay tribute to a place. Can you tell us what happened? What’s going on with the project?
    I attended high school in Padua, so I have long been familiar with that tower where Galileo worked out his theories and discoveries. For a long time I wondered why Padua hadn’t celebrated Galileo in such a way as to attract visitors and let the world know that this great genius of ours had spent an important part of his life there. More recently I tackled the problem by dedicating more time to a project called “Padua Honors Galileo,” to pay tribute to the place where he made his discoveries. I’ll be presenting the town council with the results of that work soon.

    I hope they’ll accept it, so that there will be a new attraction, among the many extraordinary jewels Padua already has, first and foremost the Scrovegni Chapel. I’d also add that in the past, Italy carried out projects that were copied throughout the world for their innovative power. Look at Brunelleschi’s dome. Palladio’s classicism. I wonder why that doesn’t happen more in our country, why the building projects fall under the category of construction rather than architecture.

    What would you say to a young person hoping to embark on a career like yours? 
    Be curious not conservative. 

    Too see one of our interviews with Gaetano Pesce: >>> 
  • Life & People

    Meet the New Italians of Wall Street

    After the success of Meet the New Doctors, the New Journalists and the New Lawyers, last week the conference room of the Italian Consulate in Park Avenue welcomed again a crowd of young people. This time the meeting was dedicated to those whose childhood dream  was to undertake a career in the finance world. So Wall Street easily comes to mind—the heart of New York’s financial district.

    The protagonists of eveining were Italian professionals in the financial world. They told their young fellow Italians about the difficulties they faced when they first arrived here, the challenges the city presented and how they eventually managed to make their way into the world’s most important stock exchange.

    The panel was made of top level professionals: Monica Mandelli, Managing Director at KKR’s investment society, Marco Bianchi, Senior Director at Intercontinental Exchange, Alberto Cribiore, Vice Chairman of  Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, G, Andrea Danese, CEO and President of Athena Art Finance Group, Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi, Citi Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, Federico Mennella, Managing Director of Lincoln International and Nicolò Della Casa, a consultant at McKinsey & Company who is now pursuing his MBA at Columbia Business School and is also member of Business School’s private Equity Fellowship Program.
     

    The debate was kicked off by the new “master of the house”, Consul General Francesco Genuardi. “It is our duty to make our experiences available to the new generation as well as to exercise our capacity to listen  and understand. And the curiosity of every single one of you and everyone of us through these meetings has grown,” Mr. Genuardi said.

    Moderator of the panel discussion was Andrea Fiano, Editor of the Global Finance Magazine. “I have been working in this field for more than 30 years," Fiano said introducing the panelists, "and I can state that the personalities who are going to talk this evening are excellent represenatives of the field.” 

    The keywords of the evening were "integrity" and "technological development." The first, intended as an unquestionable principle on both the working and the moral level; the second, as the biggest competitive asset in today's professional world.

    “I've had fun doing this job for more than 30 years. It's about understanding what a client needs, making him interested in the products that we have, helping a company to expand and be more responsible towards its employees and suppliers”, Alberto Cribiore said in speaking about his job at Citi’s Institutional Clients Group. “Every profession has to be conducted with personal and professional integrity, otherwise nothing will be accomplished,” he continued.

    The experience of Monica Mandelli—Managing director at the KKR investment society but also a wife and a mother—could not go unnoticed. “Maximizing the projects you do at work, your capacities and your knowledge is not enough: you have to be always at your best, as if you were on a stage 24 hours on 24. Every minute is important, you have to give 100% of yourself everyday, in particular in this specific context," she said, pointing at the additional difficulties a woman may encounter. "When I first arrived in New York several years ago, the finance world was still very closed towards women. Today is a lot better and there are many women with prestigious jobs in Wall Street."

    Ms. Mandelli also emphasized that every career, and the financial one in particular, "is not something you can do on your own."  This kind of job needs "a valid team," she added, and this is her lesson: "identifying the people who help you along your way is very important. Having a relationship with the people that surround you is extremely important”.

    The event ended with a long Q&A session during which the young  audience asked the panelists any kinds of advice on how to make their moves in New York, getting extensive answers and interesting advices.

    The next session of this exciting initiative, created by consuls Isabella Periotto and Chiara Saulle, will be held in a few week and is entitled Meet the Job Fair.
  • Events: Reports

    Ancient Inspirations: Paintings by Vincent Baldassano

    The artist was strongly influenced and inspired by the churches, temples, and the ancient Mithraic sites that he visited during his time in Rome.  In these paintings one can see the similarities between Baldassano’s depictions and some of Rome’s most famous ancient structures, such as the Pantheon.

    Baldassano also attributes much of his inspiration to his Italian-American culture and his
    connection to Italy; his mother was born in Puglia near Foggia, and his father’s family was from Sciacca in Sicily. 
     

    The paintings in this exhibition depict the ancient arches that can be found in Rome and throughout Italy. Baldassano  uses materials such as burlap and rice paper to create a unique texture and look. By mixing watercolor with acrylic, Baldassano also creates vibrant, colorful shapes that merge together. 
     

    Baldassano did not  expect to create these works during his time in Rome,  bringing with him a few brushes and some gouache paints. He had no idea that in 2012 the visions of these arches would appear in his mind. He adds that his time in Italy was not the only inspiration for these works: he credits some twenty years creating other work that also showcased similar shapes. 

    The works in Ancient Inspirations differ from his others because of Baldassano’s use of the unique cutouts of shapes that are present in these paintings.

    The exhibition will be open till May 13, 2016

    GALLERY HOURS: MONDAY–FRIDAY, 9AM–5PM

    Organizing Institution: Calandra Italian American Institute
  • Arte e Cultura

    Francesco Sapienza: la bellezza del fotografare

    Roma come custode di una eredità culturale e affettiva, Stoccolma per capire la propria strada e crescere, New York come punto di snodo e arrivo. Tre città completamente diverse che fanno parte del mondo creativo di Francesco Sapienza e che gli hanno dato tutta la carica necessaria per capire che la fotografia era il percorso da seguire.

    A 24 anni il primo scambio culturale universitario grazie all'Erasmus in Svezia "Stoccolma una città stupenda e all’avanguardia. Il successo che ditte e persone svedesi vantano a livello mondiale spazia dallo sport alla politica al design alla tecnologia ed è impressionante considerando il numero esiguo della loro popolazione. Si respira molto buon gusto e minimalismo, ed è quello che cerco di dare nei miei ritratti" ci racconta Francesco.

    Laurea in Ingegneria Elettronica al Royal Institute of Technology di Stoccolma e una carriera a gonfie vele nel campo delle telecomunicazioni, esperto a livello mondiale di reti 3G/4G. Il percorso artistico di Francesco non ha il classico iter di altri fotografi.

    Nei primi anni 2000 teneva corsi di formazione per ingegneri Vodafone in Italia e di altri paesi al mondo.  

    "Ho sempre cercato di creare situazioni che mi rendessero felice e questo a volte richiede dei cambiamenti drastici. Ne ho fatti diversi, sia in termini geografici che professionali". 

    Che cos'è per voi la felicità?
    Francesco se lo è chiesto più volte e, nonostante la carriera avviata nel 2004,  la passione per la fotografia ha preso il sopravvento. Lascia il lavoro di ingegnere e si dedica alla sua vera passione: i ritratti delle persone. 

    "Un viso e basta, a malapena si vede lo sfondo in molte delle mie foto talmente sono ravvicinate. Per me è  la faccia che deve parlare, ecco perché adoro scattare in studio solo con uno sfondo bianco o grigio".  

    La sua filosofia si riassume in queste parole: “Non sta a te essere fotogenico, sta al fotografo renderti fotogenico”.  E’ il fotografo che ha il compito di catturare l’anima del soggetto, non viceversa. Per me non esistono persone che non sono fotogeniche e la mia sfida è prendermi la responsabilità di riuscire a rendere chiunque fotogenico".

    "La potenza di un ritratto è incredibile" ci spiega. "E' il risultato di un’infinità di piccoli o grandi elementi che vanno dall’illuminazione alla scelta dell’attrezzatura, all’ambiente che circonda il soggetto, al modo in cui il fotografo dialoga col soggetto, alle emozioni che sta provando al momento. La bellezza per Francesco è quella naturale, anche di una smorfia" e non necessariamente solo quella da canone classico o che i media oggi ci forniscono.

    Quale città migliore se non New York per lasciarsi ispirare dai volti e dalla etnicità di tanti luoghi? "New York ha un’energia incredibile che è impossibile da descrivere a parole. E' un posto dove vai solo se hai voglia di fare e questo mood crea un vortice di energia e creatività che non credo abbia uguali al mondo. Non c’è altro posto dove io mi senta più a mio agio.". Francesco ha gli occhi che gli brillano, uno sguardo pacato ma deciso.

    Ci racconta delle sue prime esperienze lavorative con grandi brand e non solo nel campo dei ritratti. "Lavoro con Eataly da circa tre anni ed è cosi che sono entrato a contatto con la fotografia di cibo. Mi occupo di tutte le foto del loro catalogo online e delle prime tre edizioni del loro primo libro edito Rizzoli (‘How To Eataly’, in italiano ‘I love Eataly’).

    "Mi fu detto che stavano cercando un fotografo professionista per il loro catalogo e mi feci avanti. Finito il colloquio, mi diedero una busta con una decina di prodotti e mi salutarono dicendo: 'vai a casa e facci vedere cosa sai fare di innovativo'. "Non avevo assolutamente idea di come si potesse creare innovazione su foto di prodotto su sfondo bianco. Una sera, mentre fotografavo la confezione di un torrone, decisi di aprirlo per vedere come era fatto dentro. Lo spezzai a metà e feci una foto molto ravvicinata dell’interno del torrone con tutte le briciole sul tavolo bianco. Mi sembrava molto bella perchè faceva vedere esattamente il prodotto e non solo l’involucro e proposi ad Eataly di fare due foto per ogni prodotto, una che mostrasse il packaging e l’altra che mostrasse il prodotto aperto. Rimasero entusiasti dell’idea e mi diedero l’incarico di fotografare i primi 500 prodotti del loro inventario".

    Nel raccontarlo ci fa un accostamento bizzarro ma logico: fotografare cibo è un po' come fotografare le modelle e il risultato finale non dipende solo da te. "Devi avere anche cibo visivamente interessante (nella moda: la modella) e dei bravi food stylists e prop stylists (nella moda: fashion stylists e prop stylists).

    "Di recente mi e’ stato commissionato da Smithsonian un libro su uniformi e oggetti rari del mondo del baseball, sport che non conosco affatto e che ritengo anche piuttosto noioso. Sto lavorando a stretto contatto con l’autore del libro. La sua grande energia e passione infinita per il baseball e la sua storia è fantastica e mi da molta ispirazione. 

    Lavorare con gente che ha passione per quello che fa risulta molto contagioso e può rendere interessante anche progetti che di per se non lo sono. Insieme siamo stati nelle case di grandi collezionisti a Los Angeles, San Francisco ed Hong Kong per documentare parte delle loro collezioni. Ho fotografato magliette d’epoca che valgono svariati milioni di dollari ognuna e sentire i racconti di come questi grandi collezionisti siano riusciti a comprare i pezzi che cercavano e vedere la passione nei loro occhi quando ti raccontano è qualcosa di incredibile".

    Francesco Sapienza ci saluta chiedendoci di passare per un ritratto nel suo studio e di non aver timore se una ruga di troppo apparirà sul nostro volto perche fa parte della nostra bellezza.

    Una storia accattivante la sua ed il coraggio di aver lasciato un lavoro sicuro per dedicarsi all'arte. Ma c'è un segreto e tanta pazienza, Francesco lo svela spontaneamente " Bisogna pensare a un lavoro come il mio anche come un business e non solo come un’arte, il che implica che bisogna imparare a fare l’imprenditore, con tutto quello che ne consegue. Bisogna sapere fare tutto, dalla contabilità al marketing alle pubbliche relazioni e cosi via".  
  • Events: Reports

    Complessità – a Human at the Mercy of Complexity


    The performer is at the mercy of complexity thanks to a wearable device that affects his movements by modifying his equilibrioception (sense of balance) according to the movements of an algorithm that visually simulates a flock of birds.


    Complessità is an innovative Interactive Dance Performance that invert the traditional human-machine relation: the human loses ownership of its movements and we enter a new dimension where the machine computes the moving human body. The interaction between human and machine loses its unilaterality and becomes (finally) mutual. (watch the video). With this installation I want to raise awareness of the possible role of technology in modifying, altering and conditioning our behavior on a physical level.


    This project aims to show the beauty of complexity by letting the spectator explore the relation between singularity and collectivity, individuality and community, the part and the whole. The human figure and body movements are explored through a transposition from virtual to biological. Singularity and collectivity operate across both biological and computational contexts creating a visible manipulation of corporeal relation human-technology.


    Why a flock of birds? This algorithm simulates the behavior of a flock of birds. Flocking behavior is exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. This pattern parallels the shoaling behavior of fish, the swarming behavior of insects, and herd behavior of land animals. In studying flocking behavior, it becomes clear there is no central control; each bird behaves autonomously.


    In other words, each bird has to decide for itself which flocks to consider as its environment and looks to the behavior of its fellow birds to determine its own. Humans are animals, too – collective animals at that. We flock. We look at the behaviors of others before acting ourselves and rely on the group when we don’t know what to do. However, due to the expansive scale of humanity, this result is not at the forefront of our consciousness.


    As a result, we as human beings are incapable of perceiving society as the sum of all behaviors as opposed to the actions of us as individuals. As Aristoteles said, “the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts” an idea that encapsulates how humans are limited and extremely self-destructive. In this concept you can find the heat of this project – making complexity readable and understandable. Understanding complexity means understanding life as a whole and our role within it.


    The performer is being connected to the flocking algorithm through a Galvanic Vestibular Stimulator (GVS). The flock direction is transposed to the performer through two electrodes positioned on the back of each ear. The electrostimulation of the inner ear causes an involuntary and immediate modification of the body direction by stimulating a specific nerve that maintains balance.


    This technology has been investigated for both military and commercial purposes but I want to explore its effect on performing arts as a new typology and most of all to stimulate a discussion on human-computer interaction. The result of this electrostimulation of the inner ear is painless but dramatic.


    Complexity is what govern us and our behavior, but its intangible characteristics make it very hard for us to understand and perceive that we are part of a whole and that there is a complex continuity of human nature with the natural world. We tend to live and see life through a micro-scale without considering the impact of our behavior on a bigger scale, which is what influences our lives.In this performance the relation between individual and collectivity, the part and the whole, gains a legible scale: we are nothingness at the mercy of complexity.
  • Art & Culture

    The Material Painting of Verdiana



    A woman with a serious gaze drinks in the room at the Consulate General. Stretched out and with her hands in her lap, the sculpture – by Verdiana Patacchini, or Virdi – monopolizes the room. There’s also a painting on canvas, “Arazzo” (Tapestry), and another titled “A New Technique I’m Trying Out,” a huge collage made with iron and Styrofoam.


    The “material” painting plays with different matter, leaving viewers with a bewildering visionary world. That is, at least, the joint effect of Unconscious Mind: Matter and Primordial Figures in the Visionary World, the exhibit inaugurated on March 17 at the Italian Consulate General and on view until May 9.

    “I wanted my works to ‘live’ in the Consulate hall,” says Virdi, “like furniture. I sought to recreate the feeling of entering someone’s house for the first time, to make you curious about all these objects.

    “Invited by the Consulate, I had the privilege of mounting the exhibit before opening night in celebration of President Mattarella’s visit. It was a privilege, and I really appreciated it. I thought it was a very generous act for the work of a young artist.” Verdiana is the kind of painter who approaches her materials spontaneously – “it’s a way of expressing myself” – enchanted by a rough, unfinished quality clearly linked to the materials being used. It’s as if the work had many strata and were seeking out feelings, sensations mixed with consciousness.

    She likes to challenge herself by using different materials, like Styrofoam, acids, metals, paper, frescoes. “Making this exhibit happen is all thanks to Roberta Buldini, a curator and gallery owner who works in New York and Rome, where she runs the Galleria Emmeotto, which invited me to be the artist for this exhibit. Not to mention vice consuls Isabella Periotto and Chiara Saulle and, naturally, the new Consul General Francesco Genuardi, whom I got to know as a result of the exhibit.”

    Marrying art and language

    Virdi relishes telling us about how, thanks to her artwork, she has been able to encourage kids to study Italian. An Italian teacher from Paramus High School in New Jersey, Costanza Campagna, suggested a trip to the Consulate with American students of Italian so that they could see the exhibit. “Their enthusiasm was incredible,” says Virdi.

    “I’ve discovered a large Italian community in New York. During his meeting at the Guggenheim with President Mattarella, Governor Cuomo reminded everyone that the number of Italian Americans in New York is equal to the population of Rome! Incredible!”

    “Our country has a huge cultural impact on language and literature and thanks to the immensity of our artwork, aside from being one of the most beautiful places on earth! So I’m not surprised at how loved we are abroad, too, nor that there is an effort in the States to keep the culture healthy and pass it down to young people.”

    Journey to New York

    Originally Umbrian but Roman by adoption, while enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts Verdiana immersed herself in the paintings and sculptures of Carlo Guarienti, to whom she would eventually apprentice.


    Her artistic achievements began at home and included her inclusion in the 54th Venice Biennale, at the Italian Pavilion directed by Vittorio Sgarbi in 2011, as well as other artistic prizes and art festivals, before she was recognized internationally. Her anthropomorphic images composed of signs and words flew to Mexico and London. She debuted during Italian Culture Month in Monte Carlo, participating in the project “Mediterranean: The Faces of Metaphor,” and would later, naturally, land in New York, where she has worked for a long time and feels at home.

    “Right now I’m doing a residency at Mana Contemporary in New Jersey. It’s a great opportunity. I have a studio in a beautiful arts center. There are four house over a hundred artists’ studios, exhibition spaces, a foundry... Everything serves to facilitate the artists’ work. You have the opportunity to come into contact with tons of people every day, emerging and established artists, who come from various cities and cultures.”

     

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