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Progetto Ludovico

Interview with Lorenzo Perini Natali, art collector and the founder of a contemporary art platform

In this interview, the founder of PROGETTO LUDOVICO reflects on the evolution of the contemporary art platform, which champions independent art initiatives and experimental practices rooted in the use of industrial materials in art. From artist residency programs to collaborations with major Italian art foundations, the conversation explores the guiding principles behind both the platform and the founder’s personal collection.

PROGETTO LUDOVICO was born with a strong drive for research and the production of artistic projects. It is a celebration of promoting creative development. What elements or qualities must a project have, even in its raw form, to fit within the identity of ‘Ludovico’? What characteristics are you particularly devoted to and attached to?

PROGETTO LUDOVICO was born to give voice to that field of visual arts that focuses on the use of industrial materials, approach, or concept. The projects that we support in the production and exhibition need to have this type of industrial aesthetic and research.

Four years have now passed since the launch of the platform. How do you see its evolution during this period? Have there been any noticeable developments or transformations?

Our first project was held in an ex-laundromat shop that was confiscated by the Italian government from the Mafia and given to a nonprofit organisation to use as a place for cultural events. We showed a video by Daniele Costa that I later acquired for my collection. Almost three years later, our last show was at Fondazione ICA Milano, which won the prize as the best art foundation in Italy this year. We showed eight sculptures by Sacha Kanah that were made using IBC 1000-liter tanks. Through many challenges and thanks to the help of the team, we managed to create projects in very special locations, both institutional and industrial, and we continue to work on new initiatives for the future.

“We hope to always bring new projects to the public in the future — this is what interests us the most.”

Sacha Kanah, GREX, Fondazione ICA Milano, Ph: Michela Pedranti
Sergio Limonta, per ogni ora, Casa degli Artisti, Milano

In addition to being the founder of PROGETTO LUDOVICO, you also run your own personal art collection. When did this passion begin, and when did the transition occur that led you to identify the idea that gave birth to the platform?

I started collecting while studying at university in my early 20s. It came very naturally to me: I visited many shows and art fairs and did studio visits, acquiring the works that spoke to me the most. In ten years, I’ve put together a group of approximately a hundred works. The idea of creating PROGETTO LUDOVICO came after I finished my internship at Sotheby’s Milan. I was already collecting, and I wanted to create a platform that showed and did research on this very special type of industry-focused art, also offering residency space and supporting the production and exhibition of works in shows curated by very talented curators. The name comes from my first child, who’s called Ludovico and was born in 2021, the same year we started working on the platform. Our first project opened one year later.

Regarding your personal collection, is there a guiding principle, a scheme, or a list you wish to follow, or is the acquisition of a piece entirely dependent on the opportunities that present themselves at the time? Is there a piece you have had your eye on for a long time but have not yet been able to acquire?

I have a very distinctive taste and I do my own research, as every collector should do. In the collection, you can find every type of media, from sculpture to video, from large installations to drawings, but the aesthetic follows a very distinctive style. You can tell that the works were acquired with the same vision. I don’t plan a number of acquisitions a year, but I try to stay within a yearly budget; it all depends on which works you discover and about choices. There are some works by artists that I strongly admire and I have been following for some time now and that I haven’t acquired yet, but I hope to add them to the collection very soon.

“I have a very distinctive taste and I do my own research, as every collector should do.”

Sergio Limonta, per ogni ora, Casa degli Artisti, Milano
Sacha Kanah, GREX, Fondazione ICA Milano, Ph: Michela Pedranti

What was the first piece you acquired, and how does the identity of this work reflect in your choices within PROGETTO LUDOVICO? Is there a shared stylistic and ideological concept between your collection and the project?

The first work I acquired was a diptych by Russian artist Andrei Molodkin. I later acquired other works by him. PROGETTO LUDOVICO’s stylistic and ideological concept is very close to that of my collection, but PROGETTO LUDOVICO has a scientific board to discuss works and research by artists for our projects — it’s not just me choosing the artists we show. There is an open call for each project.

Looking back at the projects created, if you had to choose two that are very different from each other but represent or have represented significant milestones for the foundation, which would they be?

It’s very difficult to choose — every project was special for different reasons — but two projects that were very important for us were certainly the one at the Computer Museum in Pavia with artists Eva and Franco Mattes, who installed a sculpture that was hanging from the ceiling of the warehouse and created an installation with the computers of the museum, connecting them together. A beautiful work that the artists had been wanting to produce since the ’90s and that finally came to life. The project was supported by an Italian robotics company. The second one is the last project we opened at Fondazione ICA Milano, a very important institution for contemporary art here in Milan. We admire their work and research, so having the possibility of creating a show in their spaces has been very significant to us.

Looking towards the future, is there a new horizon you would like to explore with the project? Perhaps an artistic experimentation or a new sector, something different from what has been explored so far? Could you give us a preview of what’s to come?

In the future, we want to continue doing research and creating projects inside public and private institutions, showing and supporting the production of works that focus on the connections between visual arts and industry. Every new space and exhibition is a new challenge for us, and I am thankful to my team and those who have believed in PROGETTO LUDOVICO up to now, without whom we would not have been able to achieve what we have achieved. We hope to always bring new projects to the public in the future — this is what interests us the most.

Eva e Franco Mattes, CRTL/ALT Museum, Pavia. Ph: Melania Dalle Grave DSL Studio
Eva e Franco Mattes, CRTL/ALT Museum, Pavia. Ph: Melania Dalle Grave DSL Studio
Lorenzo Perini Natali with the artwork Eva & Franco Mattes, Personal Photographs July 4 2012, 2024. Collezione Perini Natali

Progetto Ludovico

Credits:

Founder and collector : Lorenzo Perini Natali / @perini_natali Progetto Ludovico / @progetto_ludovico
Interview: Annalisa Fabbrucci / @annalisa_fabbrucci
Editor: Maria Abramenko  / @mariabramenko

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