L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano S ince he moved to L o s A n g e l e s 1 7 years ago, his goal has always been to tell and explain Italian design to the Ameri- can public. Now that he has been officially named the 2021 ambassador of Italian design, artist Mattia Biagi decided, as a first step, to set up the exhibition A Journey Through Italian Design, at the Italian Cultural Institu- te in Westwood. F r o m t h e P r o u s t c h a i r created in 1978, to the mini- k i t c h e n d e s i g n e d b y J o e Colombo in 1963, the exhibi- tion, curated by the artist born and raised in Ravenna, collects iconic creations by Italian designers and compa- nies from the 1940s to today. "I strongly wanted this e x h i b i t i o n t o s h o w c a s e Italian design products that are on the American market," the artist -- whose works are purchased by celebrities such as Tom Ford and Elton John, a n d e x h i b i t e d i n v a r i o u s international museums, from t h e C a s t e l l o d i R i v a r a i n Turin, to the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, to the Mint Museum in North Carolina -- says. "I wanted pieces present on the LA market, that can be pur- chased here. I literally wan- ted to extrapolate them from t h e s t o r e , p u t t h e m o n a pedestal, and set a spotlight on them." Mattia, as the exhibi- tion curator and as the 2 0 2 1 a m b a s s a d o r o f I t a l i a n d e s i g n , w h a t o t h e r a s p e c t s w e r e important to you? For me, it is always essen- tial to educate the American public, to get them to under- stand the history behind each piece. Does this look like just a chair? No, it is a chair desi- gned in the 40s, with a tech- nique invented in Italy and with a recycling philosophy behind it. And tomorrow, if you walk on Beverly Blvd, you can see it in a store win- dow and buy it. When did your adven- ture in the world of desi- gn begin? At the age of 18, I began to collaborate with architect Giulio Cappellini who, at one point, decided to open a store in Los Angeles, designed by Piero Lissoni. My wife, who is a fashion designer, and I already wanted to have an experience abroad so I offe- red to follow the opening of the store. When this expe- rience ended, I decided to stay in California and started working for Diva Group LA. In addition to being a creative director, you are also an artist with a uni- que aesthetic. How has your creative path evol- ved since you have been here? When I was managing the shop for Diva Group my crea- tive work decreased a lot; at a certain point, I decided to continue creating and I came out with a collection inspired by La Brea Tart Pits; what emerged was an idea of art m a d e t o c o m m u n i c a t e something. For me, art and design go hand in hand and both contribute to creating my aesthetic. How did your artistic t a l e n t a n d y o u r g r e a t k n o w l e d g e o f I t a l i a n design help you work in the Los Angeles real esta- te market? Before the pandemic, I d e c i d e d t o o p e n w i t h m y partner, who is a builder, Studio Dardo, a design, con- struction, and consulting stu- dio. We take care of building and furnishing homes from scratch. I take care of interior design, from A to Z. While doing it, I always try to push Italian companies, because I believe they are the best but also because, since I have come here, I always had the desire to explain and present Italian products. We made a wonderful house that was published in Marie Claire and AD, where the whole project, apart from the kit- chen, was Italian. I ordered the marble from Carrara and all the furniture was from Italy. Bringing the concept of Italian furniture to LA has become my mission. How has the American public's vision of Italian design changed over the years? There has been an incredi- ble improvement. When I moved here, 17 years ago, the idea of design was simply associated with luxury. If a p i e c e w a s e x p e n s i v e o r looked expensive, then it was considered a design piece. Wrong assumption, in my SILVIA GIUDICI opinion. In the last 6-7 years, m a n y p e o p l e m o v e d h e r e f r o m L o n d o n , N e w Y o r k , R u s s i a , E u r o p e . T h e r e a l estate market has consequen- tly grown a lot, especially the demand for 20, 30 million dollars homes. When these new people, with a decidedly more sophisticated taste, arrived in the city, Italian design became fundamental to promote the sale of large properties. In the projects I have dealt with in the last four years, I brought together companies that make furni- ture, tiles, rugs, bathrooms, chandeliers, with the aim of giving a soul to these houses, which were then sold already furnished. In fact, the buyer often does not have the abi- lity to see how spaces can be filled. What is your approach w h e n y o u f u r n i s h a home? I try to understand if the house has its own history, or w h a t a r e t h e c u s t o m e r ' s n e e d s . H o m e s , e s p e c i a l l y after the pandemic, are con- s i d e r e d o n e o f t h e m o s t important places where we, as a family, as artists, as indi- viduals, regenerate, where we have time for ourselves. The goal, in my opinion, is to create a way of life that is sui- ted to the needs of the custo- mer. Materials, which I have studied a lot, are fundamen- tal. We Italians give particu- lar attention to details, we l o v e t h e m , e v e n w h e n i t comes to colors, which can drastically change the mood of a room. How have your native country, Italy, and your host country, the United States, influenced your vision of art? I am very happy to live here and to have grown up in Italy. The heritage and cultu- r e w e I t a l i a n s h a v e a r e unbeatable even if, at the same time, I would have a hard time living in Italy now. The United States changed me a lot and gave me new p e r s p e c t i v e s . I n t e r m s o f taste, they made me redisco- v e r t h e " M a d e i n I t a l y , " because I realized that our heritage is incredible. The paradox is that I had to leave to rediscover and love our c o u n t r y e v e n m o r e . O n a t e c h n i c a l l e v e l , h o w e v e r , what influenced me a lot here i s , u n d o u b t e d l y , t h e American concept of size. You could buy the Colosseum with the money from some of the villas I work on! As an ambassador of Italian design, what is your personal goal for the future? My new goal as an ambas- sador of Italian design is to help Italian companies, even small ones that may not have the opportunity or budget to afford it, to open a store here. I n o w h a v e a n i n c r e d i b l e space, a historic space, in fact, that once housed Spago Restaurant, before it closed 17 years ago. My partner and I completely renovated it. There, I would like to create a sort of "Italian house," where not only design pieces from I t a l i a n c o m p a n i e s c a n b e showcased, but where I can also help companies from a creative point of view, consi- dering how, often, a product that is well received in Italy might not necessarily be sui- t a b l e f o r t h e A m e r i c a n market. Mattia Biagi, ambassador of Italian design 2021 has been living in LA for 17 years (Photo: Andreea Florescu) A journey through Italian creativity with 2021 design ambassador Mattia Biagi LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

• Cover