Building ecosystems: let me tell you about my bee colony
An open platform where artists, designers, architects, curators, writers and academics can come together. Silvia Fiorucci explains her community, which is founded on hospitality.
by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
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The exhibition “I fiori del male” opens today at the Società delle Api, the foundation established by the Roman entrepreneur and collector Silvia Fiorucci to support contemporary artistic research. The project is dedicated to the work of Chiara Camoni and curated by Alice Motard. This is the second exhibition organised in Rome since the foundation opened to the public last February; the exhibition takes its starting point from a significant body of works from Silvia Fiorucci’s collection, which has followed the artist’s work since her early days, focusing on one of the recurring elements in Camoni’s practice – the flower, both motif and material – to explore its less tranquil nature.
‘Free-spirited, unconventional, independent, but also fragile’: this is how Silvia describes herself. She began her professional career in the family business, first as an ambassador in the United States, then as head of financial assets, a role she still holds today. For over twenty years she devoted herself to competitive horse riding, taking part in numerous international competitions and winning the title of Italian dressage champion. At a certain point in her life, she gave up horse riding to devote herself entirely to art and design. She thus became a generous and discerning collector: a Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit of the Principality of Monaco, she has been a patron of the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco for over ten years and supports institutions such as the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, the Madre Museum in Naples, the Triennale di Milano and the Serpentine in London. A mother of two and now a grandmother of five, Silvia is a curious and intuitive woman who welcomes people with sincere enthusiasm: she loves to live surrounded by artists, to foster encounters and build genuine relationships, convinced that dialogue is always a source of growth.
HOW AND WHEN DID YOU START COLLECTING?
I started as a child. Collecting is, first and foremost, a state of mind, almost a natural inclination, like an obsession. As a child, I collected everything: dolls, bits and bobs, even cutlery and handbags. I’ve always loved the idea of seeking out, preserving and forging connections between things. I grew up in a family where art was part of everyday life. My father, an entrepreneur and passionate collector of classical art and antiques, passed on to me and my sisters the joy of living surrounded by works of art. When I had a home of my own, I felt the desire to create a space that reflected my time and my perspective. My introduction to contemporary art was a spontaneous evolution, further enriched by my interest in design, as part of my life and my way of inhabiting spaces.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PURCHASE? AND YOUR MOST RECENT ONE?
