A PASSIONATE LOVER OF TEXTILES AND ART
An important exhibition in Mantua, Italy, dedicated to the multifaceted entrepreneur and arts patron Antonio Ratti
Entrepreneur, creative, aesthete, visionary, patron. These words are a helpful tool when trying to define Antonio Ratti (1919-2002), the multifaceted Italian industrialist, lover of culture and art enthusiast, whose approach to life in all its different aspects might perhaps be summarised with these words of his: “knowledge of the past generates the birth of new ideas and creates new forms of beauty.” The exhibition “Tessuto come arte: Antonio Ratti imprenditore e mecenate” highlights the extraordinary achievements of a truly exceptional character. From establishing the Tessitura Serica Antonio Ratti in Como in 1945 to the creation of the Fondazione Antonio Ratti in 1985, from the establishment of the Museo Studio del Tessuto to the 1995 debut of the Antonio Ratti Textile Center specialised in the study and restoration of textiles at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The exhibition includes fabrics from the company archives as well as pre-Columbian fabrics, Renaissance velvets, 17th and 18th century French and English silks, ribbons of the late nineteenth century from the Fondazione archives. Also on show works by contemporary artists, including Gerhard Richter and Luigi Ontani, who collaborated with the Fondazione and an installation focused on the textile production of a world-leading company in textile production according to an approach focused on creative research and technology. Curated by Lorenzo Benedetti, Annie Ratti and Maddalena Terragni and organised by the City of Mantua, the Centro Internazionale d’Arte e di Cultura di Palazzo Te, the Museo Civico di Palazzo Te and the Fondazione Antonio Ratti, the exhibition is at the Palazzo Te in Mantua until January 7th, 2018.