The Artist
Luca Vanello (1986) is an Italian-Slovene artist based in Berlin. He graduated from the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Gregor Schneider and with an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Arts, London.
Vanello’s practice approaches physical manipulation as a conceptual tool, intimate narratives and material cycles are woven together. Through processes such as vaporization, digital image alteration, compression, fragmentation and absorption, alteration as a form of abstraction becomes both a way of thinking through collective and individual narratives.
The work compromises sculpture and site-specific interventions, but also digital image alterations, text/poem, and performance and is often conceived through collaborations with individuals or organisations involved in actives of ‘work care’ and treatment related to conditions of liminality.
PVC Pain – carpet tiles, molten brass, molten copper, molten zinc, plastic, pigment, paper, brass string, brass grid 300 x 100 x 5 cm, 2015
Luca Vanello's garments spread out in the workspace
Material Experiments
Luca was introduced to Lottozero by the Fondazione Ratti, as he was interested in the exploration of textile fibres when approaching a new project based on a collection of garments.
The effects he was interested in obtaining looked a lot like the results of processing steps in the production of Lana Rigenerata (recycled wool), the most typical pratese product.
We invited Luca Vanello to Prato for a period of exploration, where he dove deep into the most traditional of the district's industrial processes and developed material experimentations on textile fibres.
encounter with the district's techniques
During a public event organised by Lottozero, Luca Vanello held a presentation of his body of work, talking about his latest project focused on Lana Rigenerata.
His previous work "PVC Pain” was exhibited during the evening.
The crossover between contemporary art and industrial textile production brought together very different people like artist, designers, but also entrepreneurs, textile technicians and retired factory workers.
The event focused on Lana Rigenerata and included a live lesson by a veteran "cenciaiolo" (typical local textile worker), a presentation by young entrepreneur Giuseppe Allocca, of Lofoio, who uses recycled cashmere in his product line and of course a open talk about Lana Rigenerata, with illustrious guests like Antonio Mauro and Roberto Gualtieri, president of Gruppo Colle, but also spontaneous contributions by local textile manufacturers.
Learning from the district's elderly, most experienced textile workers.
Experimenting with Industrial machineries: garments are assorted by color and fed into the shredder.
The fibre resulting from the shredded textile can function as a totally new material.
This first collaboration is especially focused on pushing the crossover of a young contemporary art practice and the tradition of the industrial district with it's most essential processes.
To fulfil this intention it was essential to partner up with local companies willing to invest time and work in welcoming an artist in their facilities and following his ideas step by step. Thankfully we found the necessary mindset in some very outstanding pratese companies, who were very interested in Luca's experimentations.
This openness in intersecting disciplines is one of the key values in pushing innovation and experimentation and is beneficiary for all parties involved.
with the support of