Beauty is not superfluous - Interview with Raffaele Quattrone (Part I)

During his university years Raffaele Quattrone chose to combine his studies in economic sociology with his passion, contemporary art. Today he is a sociologist and art curator. He divides his time between Rome and Bologna, is working on an episodic program on contemporary art* and is the author of other publications and critical articles, read all over the world.
Elegant, cultured, passionate, courteous and attentive, Raffaele is one of those people who make you want to cancel all your other appointments for the day to stay and listen to him.

It's not often you find yourself talking to someone who has a master's degree in the sociology of contemporary art.

I am one of those brave and lucky people who have been able to choose to turn their passion into their profession. My first exhibition, winner of the “A cura di…” competition for young curators and art critics promoted by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, gave me hope: “Maybe I have taken the right path!”, and from there I have never stopped.
I study the subjects that move within the art world: artists, gallery owners, curators, collectors, museums, galleries. What are the relationships between them? How do they change over time? It is fascinating to note that there is nothing static, since we are dealing with human relationships and the spaces they inhabit, and yet some dynamics always return. One of my goals is to be able to undermine certain cultural diktats , which in my opinion are unfounded, to dethrone the figure of the curator and the gallery owner to bring the artist and the public back to the center, making art accessible to everyone .

Can you explain it better?

I live art in everyday life . I seek beauty, aesthetics, without neglecting the intimate side of this concept: ethics. The search for beauty, for what makes us feel good, should never be an undertaking reserved for a few. It must be an operation within everyone's reach and experienced in depth, removing that retrograde aura that brands those who pursue it as superficial or alien to everyday life. In Italy we carry with us the belief that those who have not studied, those who do not have specific training cannot approach an art gallery, an exhibition: it is easy to feel excluded from the world of art, unfortunately. But art is for everyone . Anyone can identify an emotion, a feeling of wonder, a message in a work.

We have no difficulty believing that what Raffaele says could annoy the Italian art world, by nature a bit closed, which sometimes appears snobbish. However, we like to think that his invitation to approach the art world could convert the most skeptical and bring closer the most distant.

From the world of contemporary art galleries to Italian menswear. How did you discover lirecento?

Filming will soon begin on a serialized documentary on international contemporary art. A new experience for me, which brings me closer once again to the audiovisual world. The set will be Rome, a city tied to a glorious past that on the one hand celebrates it, on the other holds it back from showing itself in the present with all its potential and from being competitive in the future. The goal of this project is to show that Italy can boast a glorious past, present and future: it is no coincidence that I will talk about internationality, but starting from Rome. I wanted to involve in the project entities that could represent Italian excellence , the well-kept, the well-made , the beauty .

When I wear a Lirecento garment I feel good , I know that in the seams there is commitment and dedication and aesthetic research. In the episodes I will wear clothes, accessories and I will surround myself with elements such as furnishings, perfumes, capable of bringing beauty into everyday life. I had already purchased Lirecento garments for myself and when the time came to choose what to wear I had no doubts .

* The project involves some of the most important international artists such as Shirin Neshat, Jeff Koons, Vanessa Beecroft, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Mona Hatoum.