ARTE E IMPRESA Omaggio a Marco Rivetti

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

ART AND INDUSTRY

A Tribute to Marco Rivetti (1943 – 1996)

A Day of Study

Supported by Fondazione Marco Rivetti

 

Thursday July 7, 2016, 2:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Conference Hall, Manica Lunga

Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea

 

“The focus on the expressive research of contemporary art (…) does not represent for the GFT simply a form of sponsorship or cultural patronage. Instead, it is an integral part of a constant effort to interact with contemporary taste and its evolution, from which innovation and industrial creativity must draw motivation.”

Marco Rivetti, 1988

 

Twenty years after his death, the Castello di Rivoli is dedicating a day of study to the person and activities of Marco Rivetti (Biella, 1943 – Turin, 1996).

Speakers include: Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, director of the Castello di Rivoli and the GAM, Torino; Germano Celant, art historian, critic and theoretician; Michelangelo Pistoletto, artist; Giuseppe Berta, historian of business and industry at Bocconi University, Milan; Anna Martina, former head of communications GFT Group; Carlo Rivetti, businessman.

In addition, other representatives of the business world  such Illy, Ceretto and Trussardi,will contribute opinions on the art-industry relationship.

 

Experimenting with art and contemporary creativity, Rivetti invented a new form of communication. At the end of the 1970s, he developed the Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT), transforming the company into an international force which launched the production of prêt-à-porter.

With his ability to combine creativity, enterprise and culture, Rivetti in the 1980s integrated contemporary art and culture in business communication with innovative choices. A cultured and sensitive entrepeneur, Rivetti, who was the third Chairman of the Castello di Rivoli from 1988 to 1993 supported the development of the first Italian contemporary art system around the birth of the Castello di Rivoli museum which opened in 1984.

In his inaugural speech in Rivoli, Rivetti highlighted how “the history of our company is deeply interwoven with the history of its relationship with a large field of contemporary creativity,design and fashion.”

This absolutely topical vision which prefigures aspects of today’s world, shows how Rivetti saw in the Museum a space which would combine art with all other creative languages.

 

 

In 1980s, the GFT included 35 subsidiaries (of which 20 outside of Italy), 18 factories,  8,000 employees , 8 billion garments produced, outlets in 70 countries.

In the evolution of the GFT, Rivetti created innovation by collaborating with top designers such as Armani, Dior, Trussardi, Ungaro and Valentino, creating a dialog between the creative potential of high fashion and the tastes and trends of the mass culture.

 

Part of the urban renovation on the outskirts of Turin, he commissioned the architect Aldo Rossi to design the new headquarters of the Group, Casa Aurora. Here he placed works of contemporary art including the monumental sculpture by Michelangelo Pistoletto Figura che guarda nel pozzo (Figure Looking into the Well), 1983-84. Today installed in the gardens of the Castello di Rivoli, thanks to the Fondazione CRT per l’Arte, the artwork outlines the history of an ideal bridge between the GFT and the museum.

The GFT organized events in Italy in Milan, Rome, Florence with Pitti Uomo and abroad in the main European capitals of art and fashion such as London, Madrid, Paris, Moscow and overseas, in New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo. At that time cutting edge events were made together with artists, architects and directors such as Mario Merz, Giulio Paolini, Gilberto Zorio, Giovanni Anselmo, Giuseppe Penone, Haim Steinbach, Arata Isozaki and Luca Ronconi.

For example, in 1985 he organized with Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen and Frank Gehry the spectacular Venetian performance titled Il Corso del Coltello (The Course of the Knife).

 

Gianna Recchi, Chairman of the Fondazione Marco Rivetti, declares : “It’s with great pleasure that I welcome this day of study dedicated to my friend Marco, a visionary entrepreneur who anticipated the most current relationship between art and industry.”

 

 

 

For information and reservations

Roberta Aghemo r.aghemo@castellodirivoli.org +39.011.9565270

 

 

 

 

 

 

Press Office Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea

Manuela Vasco / Brunella Manzardo press@castellodirivoli.org +39.011.9565209

 

International Communications Consultant

Rhiannon Pickles PR rhiannon@picklespr.com +31.615821202

 

Communications Consultant

Daniela Giuffrida giuffridaniela@gmail.com +39.338.7064585