Atelier Biagetti
Our ironic design is a political act
“Those who buy our pieces do not need a new sofa or a bigger table but to transform their home into an experience”
They manage to embody the infinite obsessions of modern man: from sex to physical fitness, from religion to pop idolatry. He is Alberto Biagetti, professional designer, she is Laura Baldassarri, artist and opera singer. Together they form Atelier Biagetti, one of the most rising creative couples in Italian design. In their studio close to Ripa di Porta Ticinese they create installations, furnishing accessories and real contemporary art performances in which they distort the original functionality of the most varied objects by creating new codes, unprecedented interpretations within a universe where nothing is ever as it seems. On the occasion of the Fuorisalone 2023 they are super busy. Their agenda is packed with commitments: ranging from the The King project set up in their atelier in Piazza Arcole to participation in Objets Nomades at Palazzo Serbelloni at Louis Vuitton up to the invasion, in the honor courtyard of the University of Milan, of their extra-large format cats. We meet Alberto and Laura, a couple both in work and in life, during the very hot days of the design week.
Let’s talk about The King project…
The King is a reflection on the desire to be loved forever, on the idea of myth that leads to the creation of legend. An enormous power capable of influencing the masses and “activating” suggestions. We were fascinated by the idea that an apparently useless relic for many could become sacred for some. Elvis Presley is the figure we have chosen to build around him a performance, a scene and an imagery made up of objects produced by Atelier Biagetti. The result is a spectacular home where each piece subverts the traditional vision of the domestic space.
A sort of Graceland in scale…
Yes just like this. The exhibition is made up of a series of “legendary pieces”. There are some paintings on canvas in which Laura has painted emblematic objects of Graceland or a colossal seat designed as a stage that thanks to the collaboration with artificial intelligence it is possible to recombine infinitely, allowing to completely change the layout of the space. Or again, like a mosaic coffee table created in collaboration with the Ravenna Academy of Fine Arts (which is our city of the heart) or, finally, a hand-painted cabinet. Everything always happens away from categorizations and in full freedom of expression.
You are also at Objets Nomades at Vuitton. Can you tell us what you will present?
We started collaborating with Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades in 2019 by presenting Anemona, a large table inspired by travel and the depths of the sea. This year it’s the turn of Flower Tower, a column of blown light in Murano, designed as a totem, a point of reference inside the house, a metaphor for a space that comes from the center and that doesn’t care about borders.
Alberto founded Atelier Biagetti in 2003. Then Laura arrived in 2013: how has your production changed?
We have become a family. But more like the Addams than the Kardashians. We like to define ourselves as a “family of explorers”. The most important thing for each creation has become the tension that is created with the world, the interdisciplinarity and the people with whom goals and results are shared.
How important is irony in your work?
Irony is a political act. It is a fundamental part of all our projects. Thanks to irony you can afford to say much more.
Art galleries, fashion brands, rich collectors: who are your ideal customers?
The pieces made in the Atelier are almost all one-of-a-kind pieces or, in any case, limited editions, generally produced on request for people, galleries or institutions who wish in some way to “be part of the story” that that object represents. Who buy our pieces doesn’t need a new sofa or a bigger table, he is more interested in how his home can become an experience, a sort of “ideal stage”.
What is creativity?
An inexhaustible curiosity for everything.
Which artists inspire you?
We love artists who manage to work in the free spaces between disciplines, on the relationships between body, space and architecture. Cyprien Gaillard, for example, with his ability to create a short circuit between ruin and reconstruction, time and memory, object and image is a strong inspiration for us.
You both come from Romagna: how much of this land is there in your creations?
There is soul in everything, but there is also the game taken very seriously. In short, everything must be so fun to make us think.
If an alien arrived on earth and asked about Atelier Biagetti, what would you show him? Just one artwork…
It could be the NO SEX mirror…
Any advice for a young designer?
Design is a way to explore many aspects of human behavior. It is a study of the world around us, of the society in which we live and of the foibles, practices, methods, fetishes and passions, but also of addictions, contradictions and conflicts. It involves architecture but also politics. This is the most important thing: anyone who wants to do this job should never forget this.
One thing you absolutely must do before you die?
There are so many and none of them is a holiday on the Nile….
How do you feel at the end of a project?
We are generally adrenalinic, and this also happens when a project fails. Failure is a word that no one wants to hear but it is a very strong moment of reflection that can offer many opportunities for growth and often allows you to understand how to take the next step.
About next step. What will yours be?
In our church in Sicily, where we will soon open a new house-atelier.
Intervista: Germano D’Acquisto
Foto: Ludovica Arcero
