VENERI ITALICHE, 2023

The artwork, produced in a numbered and limited edition of 99 pieces, is part of the collection of textile multiples launched by the company in the 1970s with the aim of translating its production experience into cultural content.

Fazzini continues the artistic project of textile multiples and presents the numbered and limited edition work Veneri Italiche, signed by the talented artist Andrea Crespi.

Started in the 1970s by the Ricamificio Zibetti, founded by the great-grandfather of Paolo and Marco Fazzini, who along with their mother Maria Alberta Zibetti lead the Fazzini company, the collection includes works by some great Italian masters, such as Gio Pomodoro, Bruno Munari, and Luigi Veronesi.

Recently relaunched by Paolo Fazzini, with the desire to enhance its valuable heritage, the project involved Vittore Frattini last year. Frattini, having worked with Veronesi, established a virtuous philological connection with the past and today explores new artistic meanings through Andrea Crespi’s work.

“Veneri Italiche is a triptych that, transcending the space-time dimension, embodies the essence of Italianity: the work reinterprets Canova’s Venere Italica, subjecting it to contemporary aesthetic codes, to demonstrate how it is possible to pay homage to the history and cultural roots of the country without renouncing the artistic relevance of our times. Veneri Italiche is a true visual hymn to Italianity, which, with extraordinary sensitivity, conveys a message of hope, faith, and love. The colors chosen for the composition recall the Italian flag, adding further depth and meaning to the overall depiction,” commented Andrea Crespi.

The triptych is developed into three distinct elements, each representing one of the colors of the tricolor flag-green, white, and red-on which the author, through his reinterpretation of optical illusion, has outlined the silhouette of Canova’s work. Hidden within the repetition of embroidered graphic lines, the figure emerges, immediately evoking a recognizable image. It is precisely in the experimentation with illusory effects that Andrea Crespi explores the classical language, understood as the absolute expression of beauty and harmony: by subtracting details and nuances, the artist celebrates the essential power of the line and its ability to immediately restore the iconicity of the subject.

“We are very proud to include Andrea Crespi’s work in the collection of textile multiples, with whom we share important values. We are united not only by our connection to the local area, as the artist was born and lives in Gallarate, but also by our shared interest in the excellence of Italian cultural and productive content. The Veneri Italiche project allows us to continue decoding contemporary expressive languages with the same experimental approach with which our first artistic collaborations were born fifty years ago,” added Paolo Fazzini.

Art and productivity intertwine in this project to underscore the value of cross-pollination as a key to creativity. A blend of skills held together by a thread, which on one hand represents the raw material of Fazzini’s textile production, and on the other hand recalls the illusory repetition of lines through which Andrea Crespi has gained recognition in the art market and museum contexts, including the Maga of Gallarate.

The triptych is embroidered on garment-dyed linen and consists of three elements, each measuring 45x45 centimeters, with only 33 pieces of each element, for a total of 99.