The Artisans

An internationally recognized artist in the Italian contemporary art scene, Chiara Sorgato began her artistic training at the Fine Arts Academy of Venice, where she studied Painting. In 2012, she won an artist residency at the Fondazione Bevilacqua la Masa in Venice where she produced several important oeuvres. Her works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums around the world. She currently lives and works in Milan.

Rosaria Corcione has been working in Naples since 2003. Her work is original and devoted to research, transforming real life situations into artworks, including sculpture and eclectic installations. Her work is often symbolic: Classic art, Renaissance, Baroque, but she also explores human existential concepts such as womanhood.

A student of artist and professor Pier Giorgio Balocchi at the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, Italy, Federico Caruso first trained as a set and costume designer for opera house and ballet, collaborating with Franco Zeffirelli in Tokyo and New York. At the same time, he developed a personal painting style, exploring the theme of “Anatomy of evanescence” marked by fluid and luminous brushstrokes made with oil painting, charcoal, and pastel colors.

Born in Alghero, an Italian city on the northwest coast of Sardinia, Antonio Bardino is an internationally renowned artist specializing in mosaic art. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, he focuses his artistic work on experimenting with new graphic technologies in painting to portray the singularity of Nature. His latest oeuvres feature evocative depictions of plants inspired by the natural processes of birth, evolution, and growth.

An award-winning artist of the contemporary scene, Sicilian-born artist Matteo Mauro has worked alongside renowned designers and artists the likes of Ron Arad and Isaie Bloch. A professor of digital art in London-based universities like UCL and LSBU, his works have been exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, Marte Museum, and the Salon des Indépendants at the Grand Palais, to name a few. Defined by Forbes as the main Italian exponent of crypto-art, he collaborates with high-profile international brands on his digital paintings.

Born in 1988 in Ragusa and currently living in Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily, Salvo Alibrio is a brilliant, world-renowned photographer. A graduate of the John Kaverdash Academy of Photography in Milan, he opened his namesake studio in 2013. He is the man behind the 2020 Dolce & Gabbana’s ad campaign and reporting for Le Figaro Magazine and Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. His successes include winner of the “People & Cultures” category at National Geographic Italy and first prize in the “Events'' category at the 2016 Tokyo International Photo Awards, to name a few.

Founded in 1968, Driade is an interior design brand that merges a refined artistic aesthetic with an ergonomic idea of functionality. Offering indoor and outdoor furniture perfect for commercial and private decors, its collections showcase an eclectic and inventive style that nonetheless remains timeless and elegant. The remarkable melting pot of cultures and sensibilities inspires Driade’s creative team and artisans, who seek to create pieces that reflect this magnificent diversity and curiosity for discovery.

Born in Genova in 1974, Raffaele Canepa was first introduced to analog photography as a child by his father. After a twenty-year-long career as a film producer, he started experimenting with infrared light (IR) and architecture, particularly how light responds to different materials and light conditions. Between 2015 and 2018 he produced two extensive series on Milan’s and Rome’s iconic buildings. His travels across the Middle East, South America, and Central and Eastern Asia focus on architecture and minimal landscapes, cultivating his passion for infrared photography.

Landscape photographer, nature guide, and professor of photography, Emilio Messina is a Sicilian-based artist dedicated to exploring the island’s little-known and uncontaminated places. His shots and articles have been published in newspapers, books, and magazines such as “Le Montagne Incantate” (National Geographic) and “Le Vie dei Tesori” magazines. His works have been featured in solo and group photographic exhibitions as well as ad campaigns and TV shows. He is also a co-author of “Borghi di Sicilia” (Dario Flaccovio Editore) and “Sicilia Vulcanica” (Moroni Editore).

Architect and artisan Riccardo Monte specializes in timber charring, a technique that consists in firing the bottom of wooden posts inspired by the ancient Japanese technique Shou Sugi ban used for timber preservation. Embracing the visual and tactile qualities of the technique, he creates bold, monolithic furniture distinguished by a singular texture. After working in London as an architect, he returned to his mountainside home in Ornavasso, Italy in 2016 and spent six months in a remote mountain cabin to get closer to nature and embrace a simple life.

Visual artist and novelist Gabriele Picco was born in Brescia in 1974. His drawings, paintings, and sculptures have been hosted in museums and private galleries worldwide, namely Eutopia in Shanghai and the Biennial Art exhibitions in Tirana, Prague, and Milan. Most notably, seventeen of his drawings have been included in the New York MoMA. In 2021, he participated in the “Imagination is a magic carpet” exhibition for the Turin ATP finals.

Born in Rome in 1984 and raised between Argentina and Italy, Ilaria Facci is a contemporary artist and photographer whose stunning works explore a difficult existence, scarred by a retinoblastoma diagnosis when she was only two years of age. In 2014, her series of photographs ‘Autoscatti Sbagliati’ (wrong self-portraits) were showcased in renowned magazines, notably Inside Art and Vanity Fair. She published a book of poetry and photographs titled "Blu" in 2018, with a foreword by Italian art critic and curator Vittorio Sgarbi, who later curated other books and exhibitions for her.

Founded in Milan during the 1950s by designer Piero Fornasetti, the Fornasetti brand is today an internationally recognized name in the furniture sector, specializing in the creation of hand-decorated furniture and home accessories. All creations are characterized by an imaginative, ironic and sophisticated visual language, in a balance of art and design. From porcelain to furniture to accessories, everything is handmade in the Milan studio. The decorations and the manual production techniques make each object unique.

Founded in 2008 by Andrea and Luca Ponsi, Studio Ponsi is a Florentine workshop that blends elements of architecture and interior design to explore the relationship between form and feeling. Linear and clean in aesthetic, its unique pieces are crafted with particular attention to texture, the sensory aspect of material, and the principles of proportion and harmony.

Paolo Anselmo is an illustrious ceramist from Albisola, Liguria. After many years running a gallery where he exhibited his first personal collection, he moved to Biot, France in 1998 where he showcases his oeuvres on the French coast and his Biot gallery. His style can be characterized as primordial and archetypical, bringing to life mythological and hybrid shapes that combine irony with sensuality and a dreamlike appearance.

Villa Como is a home luxury brand specializing in fine yarn blankets and decorative pillows, drawing inspiration from the colors of the Lario and the villas overlooking it. Founded by a group of Como entrepreneurs in fashion and design, it seeks to promote and support local craftsmanship and artisans. Production is entrusted to local historic weaving mills, which have established a reputation for sophisticated and innovative workmanship. Top-quality yarns and traditional dyeing methods are used to bring their piece to life.

A needle weaving in and out to craft singular wefts is what artist Giuseppina Maurizi considers her wand. Currently based in Milan, she was born and raised in Viterbo, where she attended the Art High School and the Academy of Fine Arts. After working as a costume and scenic designer for theatres and advertising agencies for over twenty years, in 2018 she turned her focus to sewing and embroidery. The fierce revival of ancient techniques and memories intertwine with delicate gestures, in a masterful celebration of care and sacrifice.

Born in 1980, artist Nicola Felice Torcoli was born and raised in Lumezzane, a small town in the Brescian hills where he nurtured his passion for painting. After high school, he moved to Milan to attend the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, where he graduated in 2005. While focused on painting, photography and installations often emerged in his artistic research, reflecting the impact of the modern shift between analog and digital media in his work. In 2010, he began experimenting and working with the Defrag technique, which he aptly named after the defragmentation of canvases.

UTILE4 is the new fashion brand launched by Walking Sticks, an artisan company with more than fifty years of experience in crafting luxury accessories. Entirely Made in Italy, Utile4 produces fashionable collections of shoe horns that reimagine classic accessories with contemporary exclusivity. The brand's trendsetting spirit, tireless commitment to innovation, and high-quality material sourcing have made it a leader in the luxe accessory market worldwide.

“Uncalculated curves are our nature." Born in 1992, Isato Prugger grew up immersed in Italian, Japanese, and Ladin cultural backgrounds. Trained in Industrial Design, he has been a part of Nèo Design Italiano since 2019, a selection of young professionals operating in the new Italian design scene. He exhibited the FLAI portable lamp with Diomede Light at the Salone del Mobile - Euroluce 2019, one of the youngest designers to participate. Isato currently works as an independent creative in Milan, exploring his artistic vision through novel projects and collaborations.