What do you think about the trend and almost unconscious need to introduce technological expedients to create experiential/multisensory exhibitions? Do you think they often distract from the true core of the exhibition and the works of the artist?

Well, I am absolutely against that, or rather, I’m not against it, but I have an extremely negative opinion. In principle, I’m never against any type of technology because any technology that comes along, in my opinion, can bring good things. But they need to be used in an interesting way, and so far I haven’t seen great things. All the various experience exhibitions, all those things… they are truly horrible, very boring, and will leave absolutely nothing behind. Moreover, it bothers me when I see computers at the entrance of museums; they seem like those things where children start playing, those terrifying things that convey only the opposite message to what we should be conveying… as if giving the idea that the artwork is not enough, that it is a weakened form, as if a painting, because it is ‘fake’, could offer less than an experience with Oculus. The greatness of a painting lies precisely in being a surface within which we can actually dive, reaching a level of depth and immersion even superior to any reality. Often we ourselves communicate a deficiency of what we deal with. Instead, we need to be able to make people understand that a sculpture, a painting, in themselves, are already enough and go even beyond, achieving more than virtual reality can often do. I haven’t yet seen artists who have done great things with virtual reality, and that saddens me, it’s a bit of a shame. I hope that in that regard, there will be more experimentation, while remaining aware that it’s not what’s most needed, because art in itself is already sufficient to a greater extent.

Speaking about your past commissions, is there one particularly significant instance where you felt you had a wide margin of expressive freedom, where you truly left your mark?

Another good question. There are a few exhibitions that I was really happy with; I can tell you about two experiences in particular, fairly recent. One is the exhibition I did with Jacopo Benassi in La Spezia, called ‘Matrice’, where it was truly a conjunction, a level of intensity of dialogue and total harmony. It turned out to be a truly beautiful exhibition where we were given maximum freedom and consequently we pushed hard, creating a very particular, aggressive project that was also very demanding. The other work that comes to mind is the Albanian Pavilion at the Biennale. Iva Lulashi’s work is tough, dealing with pornographic, erotic material, and therefore it had a very powerful impact; from the Albanian government, there was maximum freedom, they were fantastic commissioners.
Unlike many of my colleagues, I don’t work with many artists, but with a few selected ones, and I try to work with them for a long time; some of these are Italian, some are foreign, and what is truly beautiful is that it is always a four-handed work, a magical harmony that returns and comes out. I am always very happy about this.