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Futuro Antico. Interview with Raffaella Cortese
May 23, 2023
Ludovico Pratesi
A new gallery opened after Covid, where courageous new paths can be initiated with its artists: this is Raffaella Cortese's vision for tomorrow.
What are your inspirational references in art?
When I was very young, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the issues of I Maestri del Colore at the newsstand in my hometown. As soon as I had them in my hands, I would flip through the pages and feel transported into exceptional works, in distant times and places, filled with magnetic colors. I was truly amazed by such beauty and value.
Narrative has also been a significant source of inspiration for me. I have always read a lot, and sometimes I have wished to create collective exhibitions based on my readings, trying to reinterpret and elaborate on them. Today, it is primarily poetry that provides me with my daily inspirations. I believe it is the most contemporary form of art that exists: I, who love minimalism in poetry, find that some very short verses can truly possess absolute depth and truth. In this, I feel a connection to Tucci Russo, to whom my thoughts go. Poetry is capable of opening the doors to wonder for me, allowing me to look up, to broaden my view, and to look deeply.
Then again, perhaps in contrast, I become fascinated by television series, especially Nordic productions—thrillers and mysteries—where clues become essential to the outcome of the investigation, just as details are in my work. And, of course, I am continuously inspired by the artists I work with, especially those I have collaborated with for a long time, with whom I have a close connection and very deep relationships.
What is the project that represents you the most? Can you tell us about its genesis?
Among the most important recent projects is definitely the donation made together with Marcello Maloberti of his neon piece INVITAMI NOTTE A IMMAGINARE LE STELLE to the Holocaust Memorial in Milan, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2023. We have just learned that over 50,000 students have visited the memorial during the current school year, an exceptional milestone that indicates how this luminous work has also contributed to increasing the visibility of this place, which is so significant for our history.
This project has also generated very beautiful relationships; it allowed me to meet Liliana Segre and led me to revisit texts about World War II and Nazism. All of this has enabled me to develop a new perspective on what happened to us with COVID, especially for those of us who live and work in Lombardy. It has been important for gaining a deeper understanding of the scale and significance of what has happened and is happening around us, both personally and collectively.
What importance does the Genius Loci have within your work?
After the difficult pandemic period, I opened a tiny exhibition space of twelve square meters in Albisola Superiore, Liguria, just a stone's throw from the sea. It’s a territory to which I am very attached, since childhood: far from just being about the Genius Loci, this is where my roots have grown deeper, especially during the wonderful Sixties. I believe it is very important to always keep one's origins in mind. This is also why I have never opened a location abroad; I truly love Albisola, Milan, Italy, and its provinces. It is the country that raised me and has given me so much, and for this reason, I have always sought to give back quality, beauty, and culture.
Of course, this has not prevented me from having an international vision; on the contrary, I work with twenty-six non-Italian artists and often travel abroad. I recently saw Il sol dell’avvenire by Nanni Moretti, which expresses this fullness of Italian identity to which I feel connected in its forms, obsessions, and transformations.
How important is the past for imagining and building the future? Do you believe the future can have an ancient heart?
The future is built every day on a consciousness nourished by the past, which I believe in deeply, as is the case with history and culture. This is why I appreciate duration, which embodies experience, a journey, and sharing—a very important value. Canto alla durata by Peter Handke has been sitting on my bedside table for several months; it’s a philosophical discussion in the form of a poem that gently touches me.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to follow your path?
I would say that it requires an immense, exaggerated passion—a combination of art and life—along with great determination and an intellectual and human complicity. Above all, I would suggest always keeping in mind a principle that underlies my way of working: the artist and their work are always at the center and always take priority. Then, I would advise building a solid, honest professionalism that combines culture, the market, and human values, managing to balance these aspects and values skillfully. Another important element is the courage to go against the grain, even expressing ideas that may be out of fashion. Sometimes, it’s enough to take what already exists, recognize its essence, place it within the context of our time, and express it in a new way.
In an era defined by post-truth, does the concept of the sacred still hold importance and strength?
For me, art is connected to the transcendent, the spiritual. It's no coincidence that I consider The Spiritual in Art by Kandinsky to be one of the most beautiful books ever written about the profound need for change, fueled by the principle of inner necessity. Art also relates to permanence, which acts over time and space, adding history and value to institutions and to our relationship with nature and the planet.
How do you envision the future? Could you provide three ideas that you think will guide the coming years?
I don’t like to gaze into a crystal ball. Imagining the future is a gamble; I don’t even check the weather forecasts. I enjoy waking up and seeing what the weather is like! Who could have predicted the pandemic, the crisis of values it generated, the wars, the collapse of all financial forecasts? Making predictions is very difficult, and it's even more so, paradoxically, in this world flooded with information, filled with conflicts, instability, and subject to multiple crises. Certainly, the advent of artificial intelligence will lead to a series of changes that we are already witnessing, and consequently, we will have to navigate its complexities. I believe it’s much better to maintain a certain clarity and daily courage. Artists and their visions matter immensely; I let myself be guided by them and by the passing day, by the everyday act of creation. I’m interested in understanding reality day by day, feeling it flow over my skin.