Patti Smith: The Difference Between Wanting To Be and Being an Artist - 295 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
PATTI SMITH – WORKER. Patti Smith was born in Chicago in 1946. In the 1970s the American poet, songwriter, singer, and visual artist blazed a trail for punk rock artists, especially women. Patti Smith earned herself such titles as “godmother of punk” and “punk’s poet laureate” with her androgynous appearance, intense live performances, and penchant for writing lyrics that often blend poetry with subversive themes, She retreated from public view in the 1980s but made a successful return to performing in the 1990s. Following her comeback, she has published several acclaimed...
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From Hollywood to the Art World: Marco Brambilla on AI, Cinema & Creativity - 294 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
PIONEER OF VIDEO ART AND CULTURE. Marco Brambilla is a leading figure in contemporary video art, internationally recognised for his pioneering use of digital imaging technologies and immersive moving image installations. The Italian-born Canadian artist and film director is best known for work that re-contextualizes archival imagery into visually elaborate, often satirical spectacles that explore the excesses of contemporary culture. His work has been exhibited at major global institutions. “In the 1980s Francis Coppola famously said that at some point he would be able to dictate his...
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Patrick Kinmonth on Beauty, Art, and the Meaning of Creativity - 293 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
AN INDEFINABLE PERSONALITY. Patrick Kinmonth is an Anglo-Irish opera director and designer, film maker, writer, painter, interior designer, art editor, creative director and exhibition curator. He is widely known for his many stage, costume, interior and architectural designs and recognised internationally for the breadth and depth of his creative interests. His many collaborations have yielded landmark opera, ballet and dance productions, books and exhibitions. Kinmonth’s earlier role as arts editor at British Vogue included creative direction for fashion and portraiture shoots. He is...
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Gabriella Cortese: The Founder of Antik Batik on Travel, Craftsmanship & Fashion - 292 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
AN ODE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP AND AUTHENTICITY. Gabriella Cortese made her mark on the fashion universe when she founded Antik Batik in 1992. The Antik Batik fashion house stands out for its collections of chic, bohemian clothing and accessories that emphasise craftsmanship and artistic techniques. It was the alluring scent of adventure that set Gabriella Cortese on her travels and inspired her to create Antik Batik, thus it reflects its designer’s ever-renewed desire to explore the world with boldness and curiosity, and to share her discoveries. Fiercely committed to freedom and...
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Erri De Luca on Aging, Freedom, and Living Intensely - 291 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
ACTIVELY AGING. Erri De Luca was born in Naples in 1950. A widely celebrated Italian novelist, essayist, poet, and translator, he has been hailed as “the writer of the decade” by Italian critics and his work has been translated into over thirty languages. He has written around 80 books – some say 100 – and is also a translator of important works. He has studied ancient Hebrew, Swahili, Russian and Yiddish, and has translated several books from the Old Testament, such as Ecclesiastes, Exodus and the Book of Jonah. He has also appeared in films and documentaries,...
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What Does China Really Want? Dr. Yu Jie on Xi Jinping, Taiwan and Global Power - 290 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
CHINA FIRST. Dr. Yu Jie is Senior Research Fellow for China, Chatham House. She focuses on the interplay between China’s domestic political economy and foreign policy and is a seasoned commentator in major international media outlets, including BBC News, the Financial Times and Foreign Policy. She regularly briefs senior policymakers from G20 governments and leading intergovernmental organisations. In July 2025, Project Syndicate recognised her as ‘one of the most notable female voices’ in global affairs. “It is very much a self-centred way of looking at...
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Benoist F. Drut: The Art of Collecting: What Most People Get Wrong About Taste - 289 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
SEAMLESSLY BLENDING ART DECO AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN. Benoist F. Drut is managing partner of , a leading source for French Art Deco furniture, lighting and objects, and — more recently — postwar and contemporary design. Founded in 1974 by Gerardus Widdershoven, Maison Gerard maintains two premises on East 10th Street in Manhattan and is an elegant presence at both The Winter Show and at Salon Art + Design. "I always have my eyes open. I have to stay curious, aware, and inquisitive, that's my job." "Being based in New York, your main competitors are in London and Paris,...
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Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda: How to Turn Family Legacy Into a Modern Business - 288 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
A CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR. Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, born in 1991, is a Venetian entrepreneur and artist with diverse creative pursuits. The family business, Laguna~B, specialises in contemporary Murano glassware, and from this base Brandolini d’Adda is now expanding his activities into a universe of complementary ventures, including a design studio, a restaurant, and a magazine called EVERYTHING that serves as a communication platform for the various projects of his group of companies. "EVERYTHING reflects the creative and cultural environment where it was born.” "EVERYTHING is...
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Dr. Wong Siew Te: The Man Who Dedicated His Life to Saving the World’s Rarest Bear - 287 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
CHOSEN TO SAVE SUN BEARS. Dr. Wong Siew Te is a Malaysian wildlife biologist, wildlife conservationist, tropical forest ecologist and nature lover. He studied veterinary science in Taiwan and later wildlife biology at the University of Montana where he began his focus on the rare and little-known Malayan sun bear, the endangered smallest species of bear in the world. In 2008 Wong founded the , and he still runs it today. A CNN Hero, Wong received the President's Award from the International Association for Bear Research and Management. "The bears are very shy animals. They all...
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Piero Lissoni on Design, Architecture & Creative Freedom - 286 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Alain Elkann Interviews
MILANESE MASTER OF CONTEMPORARY DESIGN. Piero Lissoni is a multi-award-winning-architect, designer and art director. One of the masters of contemporary design, he has an almost forty-year history in the development of projects the world over in the fields of architecture, landscape, interior, product and graphic design. He is art director for Alpi, Boffi, Living Divani, Lualdi, Porro and Sanlorenzo as well as being the founder and director of the interdisciplinary studio Lissoni & Partners. “When you’re born in Milano and grow up in the polytechnic of Milano it...
info_outlineCHAMPION OF THE REMARKABLE. Luke Syson is Director and Marlay Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge University since 2019. From antiquity to the present day, the Fitzwilliam houses a world-renowned collection of over half a million beautiful works of art, masterpiece paintings and historical artefacts.