The Artisans

After completing his Architectural studies, Pino Procopio felt the need to communicate emotions through figurative art, following the steps of the Primitivism current. Procopio paints everyday life happenings, making them surreal, with fantastic and deformed figures, as if reflected by convex mirrors. He paints mythologies that describe the tale of the Greek gods, their weaknesses, loves, conflicts, passions, deceptions and betrayals. Animals are a constant in his works to denounce their suffering at this particular moment in history. Procopio also realizes sculptures with salvaged materials and with polychrome bronze castings through the intaglio technique.

Piero Mollica's shots evoke early twentieth-century photography when the newly invented technique was preparing to abandon naturalism to access the languages of the most advanced modernist painting. Piero Mollica's technique is based on Fine Art and the focus is on the basic relationship between the subject and the construction of habitable space. Mollica's research consists in transforming the image, starting from the conscious renunciation of its immediate description.

Born in Castellammare di Stabia in 1970, Federico Lombardo currently lives and works in Ciampino, Roma. Completing studies in Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, his research focuses on exploring the shape and spirit of man through bold brushstrokes and daring colors. His works have been exhibited at the Monade in Federico Rui A. Contemporanea Gallery, Milan (2018), Ai confini della pittura in BQB Gallery, Rome (2016), Experimenta, Collezione Farnesina at the Ministero degli Affari Esteri (2009), and Point of departure at Dean Project New York (2007), among others.

Photographer Carlo D’Orta has been capturing bits and pieces of the world with his camera for over forty years. Between 2002-2012 he studied contemporary art and painting at the Rome University of Fine Arts and received a Master’s degree in Photography at the IED Institute in Milan. His photos are characterized by a bold pictorial influence and focus on architecture, landscape, dance, and portraits. He has presented solo exhibits around the world, notably “Beyond the Lens” in Venice in 2015 and the National Museum of Singapore in 2017.

“Painting makes me feel at home.” Angelo Bellobono is a Roman-born artist who has traveled around the world capturing the relationship between humankind and nature. Merging disciplines such as anthropology and geology with the concepts of identity, boundaries, and territory, he experiments with his sense of “corporal” belonging, skillfully moving from one mountain landscape to another. Ice is a recurring element in his works, symbolizing the Earth’s memory that acts as a bridge between cultures and countries.

Milan-based painter Milena Sgambato graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. In 2011, she was selected to participate in the 54° Venice Biennale with the Italian pavilion, representing the Campania region. From that moment on, her works have been exhibited in many museums and contemporary art galleries, such as the Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Caserta, and the Costantini Art Gallery of Milan.

Born and raised in Milan, Valentina Sommariva is a multi-hyphenate photographer. After receiving her Architecture Degree and studying Design at Brunel University in London, she attended the Contemporary Image master's course at Fondazione Fotografia Modena (2012-2014). She is also a member of the Italian Chartered Institute of Journalists, specializing in portraits, catalogs, interior design, and ad campaigns. She has exhibited her works worldwide and has been published by The Guardian, AD Italia, Financial Times, Elle Decor Italia, Holland, and Russia.

Giuseppe Lo Schiavo is an award-winning visual artist currently living and working between London and Milan. AI, machine learning, infrared systems, and virtual reality are all featured in his works, which are often focused on creation-destruction, past-future, and analog-digital. Winner of the European project BioArt Challenge, his current research on art and synthetic biology is supported by MUSE, Cardiff, and Zurich Universities. Museums and galleries worldwide hosted his works, also published on BBC, Vice, Inside Art, and Elle Decor, among others.

Giulio Boem is an Italian photographer who documents art, design, and architecture with impressive style. After graduating from the DAMS in Bologna specializing in public photographic archives, he began collaborating with numerous public and private institutions on editorial projects and digital fine-art printing. His collections have been acquired by Goldman Sachs, Unipol, and Ferragamo Lungarno Collections, among others.

A contemporary artist and painter from the Italian province of Como, Ilaria Franza graduated in Experimental Arts at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Renowned for her deft use of color, she works alongside interior and product designers to create exclusive paintings for modern decors. Her artworks offer a different perspective on the outer and inner worlds, leading the audience to an unexplored area of the mind that draws inspiration from Romanticism.

On the scene since 1967, Santi Caleca worked as a photojournalist for the Palermitan newspaper “L’Ora” before moving to Milan for work. A fortuitous meeting with Casa Vogue’s former editor Isa Vercelloni in 1976 paved the way for a professional evolution, adapting the language of photography to interior design and architecture. His encounter with Ettore Sottsass in 1977 earned him a friendship and collaboration that lasted for over 30 years. Santi Caleca creates press campaigns and catalogs for renowned architecture firms, galleries, and museums worldwide.

Born in Naples and currently based in Milan, Adriano Annino is a prolific, all-around artist whose vision is best expressed through the convergence and blend of diverse artistic languages. His degrees in Music Theory and Trumpet from the Conservatory preceded and inspired his experimentation with painting to explore contemporary approaches to art. His artworks have been showcased in solo exhibits and major exhibitions such as the 2019 “Corpi Eloquenti” in Monza, “Eléphant Paname” in Paris, and “Angry Boys” at the Det Ny Kastet Museum in Thisted, Denmark.

Documentary photographer Michela Benaglia’s career is marked by unexpected twists and turns. After completing her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design, she embarked on a ten-year-long stint as an Art Director. She then pursued a Master’s in Reportage, allowing her passion to become her full-time job. Documenting scenes of human life, her photographs are exceptionally powerful in narrative and visual impact.

Silia is a luxury brand born in 2011 from the skillful craftsmanship of I&S, a Florentine company with a long tradition in the artisan processing of Plexiglas. Silia’s international acclaim for its luxury furnishings and home decor brought forth important collaborations with renowned designers and architects. Silia’s creative designs are crafted using high-tech machinery and hand-finished by skilled Florentine artisans. The brand’s use of Perspex, a polymethyl methacrylatewith extraordinary optical characteristics, is complemented by precious materials such as ebony, 24K gold, and python leather.

Massimo Siragusa is a professor at the IED of Rome, a photographer, and an editorial director of Phaos Edizioni. He has exhibited his works in the permanent collections of the Vatican Museums and the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, among others, and has been published internationally in magazines such as New York Times Magazine, Le Monde, and Marie Claire. He has worked with the most prestigious Italian companies, telling their identity with a singular clean aesthetic.

UNESCO, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities, and the Bangkok Embassy are just a handful of the well-known institutions photographer Luca Capuano has worked with. His projects range from photo essays documenting Italian cultural heritage to shoots and ad campaigns for designer brands such as Artemide, Flos, Piquadro, and Bulgari. His photos have been exhibited at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Abu Dhabi Nyuad Art Gallery, and Berlin Institut für Architektur, among others. He teaches photography at the Isia Institute of Urbino.

Born in Pescara in 1980, Claudia Ferri views photography as the most sincere lens through which to explore man and places. After many years in Rome, she moved to Milan where she works as a freelancer. Her portraits investigate the physiognomic change from puberty to adolescence, while her contextual photography is focused on how environments change depending on the people who live in them. Gucci, Missoni, Fondazione Prada, Nike, and X Factor are among her clients. Her works were published in Monocle, Konfekt, Esquire, Hunter Magazine, and Vogue, to name a few.

Art runs through the veins of John Mirabel. Born in 1988 in France, he is a half-French, half-American visual artist, musician, and curator based in Milan. Polymorphous best describes his artistic language, ranging from videos to installations. In 2020, he founded “Spazio Bidet”, an artist-run space in Milan, and since 2021 he collaborates with the “Le Domaine Perdu” Gallery, Galera San Soda Art Gallery, and JFS Orchestra. Artists such as Liv Schulman, Daniel Steegman Mangrané, and Tarek Lachrissi count him among their collaborators.

The brainchild of visual artist Martina Zena, ZeNA reflects her open approach to art through home collections whose colorful, handpainted motifs synthesize all the creative influences and sparks that enriched her professional path. Authentic visual codes she describes as concerts, dances, or brushstrokes chasing each other reveal a sense of rhythm that no cup or plate from her collections ever fails to convey. Coherently with its founder’s philosophy, the brand keeps evolving and experimenting with new materials with new shapes and motifs.

Back in 1922, Agatino Maccarrone started handcrafting chairs in a small Sicilian village at the foothills of Mount Etna. His workshop has hosted five generations of cabinet makers, earning the company special recognition for over 20 years of experience in furnishing yachts, private jets, and luxury hotels. Passion, expertise, and technology are at the core of Maccarrone’s philosophy, characteristics that can be recognized and appreciated in every single watch winder, cigar humidor, bar cabinet, or any other fine case, all deftly handcrafted in Tuscany.