Alain Elkann Interviews
A podcast series of long-form conversations hosted by Alain Elkann, a novelist and journalist who has published more than twenty books. In each episode he interviews well-known and widely respected cultural, political and literary figures of the past quarter century. Elkann approaches the interview as something between taking a photograph and writing a short story, letting the conversation develop freely and organically. The show is drawn from his extensive archive of interviews, originally published in print and presented here in audio form.
Episodi
Johnny de Falbe: Why Independent Bookshops Still Matter - 308 - Alain Elkann Interviews
THE ART OF BOOKSELLING. Johnny de Falbe runs John Sandoe Books, the independent bookshop near London's Sloane Square, together with his wife Arabella von Friesen and their staff. He has worked there since 1989. The small Chelsea shop stocks around 30,000 books and is one of London's best-loved independent booksellers. "It matters to me that we have clients in America, Italy and all over the world.
Marco Antonio "Toni" Servillo on Acting, Cinema and the Power of Theatre - 307 - Alain Elkann Interviews
MASTER OF THE CRAFT OF ACTING. Marco Antonio Servillo was born in Afragola, Italy, in 1959. He built a rich theatrical foundation by founding the Teatro Studio in 1977 and co-founding the influential company Teatri Uniti in 1987. He achieved international film renown through his frequent collaborations with director Paolo Sorrentino, delivering unforgettable lead performances as real-life politica
Amos Gitai on Art, War and the Power of Ideas - 306 - Alain Elkann Interviews
Amos Gitai, the acclaimed 75-year-old Israeli architect-turned-filmmaker known for his politically charged and deeply reflective documentaries, premiered his latest work, The Road to Jericho, out of competition at the 2026 International Venice Film Festival. The 75-minute film chronicles the struggle of a Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar, weaving together 40 years
Inside New York's Most Beloved Museum: Axel Rüger on the New Era of The Frick - 271 - Alain Elkann Interviews
THE REGENERATION OF THE FRICK. Axel Rüger is a German art historian, curator and museum director. Director of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam from 2006 to 2019, he previously worked as a curator of Dutch art at the National Gallery in London. He led the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2019 through 2024, and in March 2025 assumed the directorship of The Frick Collection in New York City. "You
Paddy McKillen - 14 - Alain Elkann Interviews
REINVENTING LONDON'S LEGENDARY LUXURY HOSPITALITY. International entrepreneur Paddy McKillen has a passion for the hospitality business and property development. In 2004 he was part of a group that bought four of London's 5-star hotels: Claridge's, The Berkeley, The Connaught and The Savoy.
"Identity Is Something You Choose" - Simone Fattal on Art, Exile, and Belonging - 266 - Alain Elkann Interviews
MANIFESTATIONS OF THE VOYAGE. Simone Fattal is a Lebanese-American artist. Born in 1942 in Damascus, she was educated in Beirut and Paris, studying philosophy at the École des Lettres and the Sorbonne, as well as archaeology at the École du Louvre. Simone Fattal and Etel Adnan (1925–2021) were life partners for 49 years, artists who shared a profound creative, political, and personal connection. T
Aimone di Savoia-Aosta: Russia, Italy and a Life Between Two Worlds - 300 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A LIFE OF HONOR. Aimone di Savoia Aosta, 6th Duke of Aosta, was born in Florence in 1967. After studying at the Naval College in Venice and beginning his professional life in London, he moved to Russia in the early 1990s. He later joined the Pirelli Group and more recently returned to Italy after many years abroad. He has also served as Ambassador of the Order of Malta to Russia. "Italian History
Alejandro Aravena - 124 - Alain Elkann Interviews
BUILDING TOWARDS EQUALITY. Alejandro Aravena is a Chilean architect and executive director of the firm Elemental S.A. In 2016 he won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture's highest honour, and was the director and curator of the Architecture Section of the 2016 Venice Biennale. From 2000 to 2005 he was a visiting professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design. An International Fellow of th
Alvise Casellati: Can Music Heal? The Powerful Story Behind Opera & Therapy - 280 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CHAMPION OF ITALIAN OPERA. Alvise Casellati was born in Padua, Italy, from a Venetian musical family with important ties to the top classical music scene in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is currently serving as Artistic Director of the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, one of the most prestigious opera and dance theaters in Italy and in the world. He is the Founder and Music Director of Opera Italiana
Andrew Graham-Dixon: The Hidden Meaning of Vermeer - 282 - Alain Elkann Interviews
LUMINARY IN ART CRITIQUE. Andrew Graham-Dixon is a leading art critic and presenter of arts television in the English-speaking world. With a long history of public service in the field of the visual arts he has won numerous awards for writing and broadcasting. His book "Caravaggio A Life Sacred and Profane" is a Sunday Times Bestseller, and his recent title "Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found" paints
Antonio Citterio: Why Good Design Starts With the End of a Product's Life - 276 - Alain Elkann Interviews
DAY TO DAY BRILLIANCE. ANTONIO CITTERIO is an Italian architect, furniture and industrial designer. Today his cross-disciplinary practice for architecture and interior design is known as "ACPV ARCHITECTS Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel". The firm works internationally, developing projects on all scales in collaboration with a network of specialist consultants. In both 1987 and 1994, Antonio Citteri
Antony Gormley - 42 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CONNECTING THE WORLD. The sculptor ANTONY GORMLEY is perhaps best known for his large installations in public space. A major exhibition of his work was recently held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His next exhibition is at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Marais.
Architecture as a Language - Sean Griffiths on Cities, Power & Design - 260 - Alain Elkann Interviews
MODERN ARCHITECT. Sean Griffiths is Professor of Architecture at the University of Westminster and former Visiting Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University. His current architecture and design practice Modern Architect was founded in 2014 and has worked largely on residential, commercial and public art projects. Previously Sean Griffiths was a founding director of the internationally r
Barry Diller: Either You Are or You Aren't - A Life of Bold Decisions - 247 - Alain Elkann Interviews
WHO KNEW. Barry Diller is an American businessman and philanthropist who recently published his life story in his book Who Knew with Simon and Schuster. The chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group, he founded the Fox Broadcasting Company with Rupert Murdoch and USA Broadcasting. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1994. Barry Diller is married to the fashion designer
Benoist F. Drut: The Art of Collecting - What Most People Get Wrong About Taste - 289 - Alain Elkann Interviews
SEAMLESSLY BLENDING ART DECO AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN. Benoist F. Drut is managing partner of Maison Gerard, 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
Bianca Jagger: "I Am a Human Rights Defender. That Is My Mission" - 279 - Alain Elkann Interviews
DEFENDER OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS. Bianca Jagger is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation (BJHRF), a UK-based human rights organisation that defends human rights and civil liberties, promotes international justice, campaigns to end violence against women and girls, addresses the threat of climate change, and advocates for the rights of Indigeno
Caravaggio, Vermeer & the Power of Museums - Dr Caroline Campbell - 254 - Alain Elkann Interviews
ART FOR PUBLIC PURPOSE. Dr Caroline Campbell was born and educated in Belfast, and became Director of the National Gallery of Ireland in 2022. She studied Modern History at University College Oxford, and has an MA and PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. A former Fellow of the Center for Curatorial Leadership, New York, before joining the National Gallery of Ireland, Caro
Charles Zana - 199 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CLASSIC WITH A MODERN TWIST. Charles Zana is a highly sensitive architect who imagines each project through the lens of a French lifestyle. He is also a passionate collector like his father, and has done in-depth research on the great Italian design masters of the 20th century such as Ettore Sottsass and Carlo Scarpa. In 2019 Charles Zana was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by David Caméo,
Colin Bailey: The Caravaggio Masterpiece New York Rarely Gets to See - 270 - Alain Elkann Interviews
REALISING WONDERFUL IDEAS. Colin Bailey is a British art historian and Director of the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. He is a scholar of eighteenth and nineteenth century French art, with a specific interest in the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. For the first time ever in America, Caravaggio's Boy With A Basket Of Fruit is on show at The Morgan. "Renoir Drawings is a survey of Renoir wor
Dambisa Moyo - 160 - Alain Elkann Interviews
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND HUMAN PROGRESS. Dambisa Moyo is a Zambian-born economist and writer whose books, articles, and public lectures centre on the creation of wealth in a global economy.
Dame Caroline Michel on How AI, TikTok and Amazon Are Transforming Publishing - 297 - Alain Elkann Interviews
IN LOVE WITH LITERATURE. Caroline Michel is since 2007 both the CEO of literary agency Peters Fraser and Dunlop (PFD) and has served as Chair and previously Trustee of Hay Literary Festival. She is a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), a high-ranking official award that is the female equivalent of a knighthood and given by the British monarch to women for major national servic
Damien Hirst - 48 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN PARIS. Damien Hirst discusses his career and the new paintings on beauty, life and death that he plans to exhibit at Fondation Cartier.
Diana Widmaier-Picasso - 129 - Alain Elkann Interviews
PICASSO THE MAGUS. Diana Widmaier-Picasso recently published a book with anthropologist Philippe Charlier (Gallimard) titled Picasso Sorcier and curated an exhibition about her mother Maya with Emilia Philippot that is on until December 31, 2022 at Musée Picasso-Paris. She has also had a presentation during Couture Week in Paris of her other activity, which is jewelry. In 2017 she co-founded with
Fabrizio Moretti - 122 - Alain Elkann Interviews
TOP QUALITY. Fabrizio Moretti's new London gallery in Duke Street, St. James's, will open on July 1st 2022. The gallery will focus on Old Master paintings and sculptures for top clients and museums.
Federico Campagna - 234 - Alain Elkann Interviews
SPEAKING TO THE DEFEATED. Federico Campagna is an Italian philosopher based in London. His research concerns the metaphysics, politics and history of world-building. His books are Technic and Magic (Bloomsbury, 2018) and Prophetic Culture (Bloomsbury, 2021) and his next book Otherworlds, Mediterranean Lessons on Escaping History will investigate the history of cosmological imagination during times
Francesco Billari on Population Decline, AI & Identity - 275 - Alain Elkann Interviews
LEADING AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY. Francesco Billari is Professor of Demography at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. He became Rector in November 2022 after having held the role of Dean of the Faculty. He has worked at the University of Oxford Department of Sociology, at Nuffield College, and at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. His recent book Domani è Oggi offers a demograph
François Halard - 85 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CURIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL. The French fashion photographer François Halard is well known for his interior and architectural images.
From Hollywood to the Art World: Marco Brambilla on AI, Cinema & Creativity - 294 - 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
Graydon Carter - 231 - Alain Elkann Interviews
GOOD GOING. Graydon Carter launched his enjoyable digital weekly newsletter Air Mail in 2019. He was the editor of Vanity Fair for twenty-five years, and under him Vanity Fair won numerous awards. Named to the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame, he is also an author and editor of books, a producer of plays and documentaries, and a restaurateur. In the newly published memoir When the
Hans Ulrich Obrist - 183 - Alain Elkann Interviews
I WANT TO CREATE JUNCTIONS. Hans Ulrich Obrist is a Swiss art curator, critic, and art historian who lives and works in London where he is Artistic Director at Serpentine. Obrist is the author of The Interview Project, an extensive ongoing project of interviews, and is also co-editor of the Cahiers d'Art review.
Hope, Friendship, and Faith: A Life of Service with Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe - 245 - Alain Elkann Interviews
IN CONVERSATION WITH CARDINAL TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE : A LIFE OF HOPE AND HUMANITY. Timothy Radcliffe OP is an English priest who served as Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001. He is the only friar of the Dominican Order's English Province to hold the office of Master-General. Created a Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2024, he took part in the recent Conclave to elect Pope Leo XIV, the first
Inside Global Power: Giuliano da Empoli on Trump, Putin & the New Tech Elites - 262 - Alain Elkann Interviews
MPERIAL PLAY. Giuliano da Empoli was born in 1973. He is an Italian and Swiss writer and political scientist living in France. He was a senior advisor to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. His debut novel The Wizard of the Kremlin became an international bestseller and was translated into 35 languages. A 2025 film version stars Jude Law as Vladimir Putin. His latest book The Hour of the Predator
Inside Italy's Most Romantic Hotels with Marie-Louise Sciò - 237 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CURATING THE VERY DIFFERENT IDENTITIES OF THE PELLICANO HOTELS GROUP. Marie-Louise Sciò is CEO of the Pellicano Hotels group in Italy, which today comprises Hotel Il Pellicano in Porto Ercole in Tuscany, La Posta Vecchia Hotel near Rome, and Mezzatorre Hotel & Thermal Spa in Ischia. The youngest child of hotelier Roberto Sciò, Marie-Louise studied design and architecture at the Rhode Island School
Inside LUMA Arles: Maja Hoffmann on Art, Nature & Change - 252 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A VISION OF TRANSFORMATION. Explore the impact of Maja Hoffmann on contemporary culture through her LUMA Foundation and innovative art projects. Maja Hoffmann is a Swiss art collector and patron. The Founder and President of LUMA Foundation, she has led the development of LUMA Arles in Provence, an important international cultural project. By addressing urgent issues in culture, nature, scientific
Inside the Mind of a True Original: Why Rolf Sachs Refuses to Copy - 243 - Alain Elkann Interviews
ALWAYS ON A ROLL. Rolf Sachs is an artist born in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1955 who works across a diverse range of media, from photography, painting, sculpture and installation, to interiors and set design. In 2018 he moved to Rome where he opened a new studio in 2020. From July 17, 2025 to October 25, 2025 the Kunsthalle Schweinfurt in Germany presents Rolf Sachs: be-rühren, his most comprehensi
Ivor Braka - 151 - Alain Elkann Interviews
WORKING FROM HOME. Ivor Braka is an art dealer and collector who works privately from his home in London rather than a gallery. For many years he has also been involved in the restoration of Gunton Park in North Norfolk, where he now owns and runs two celebrated pubs.
James Daunt - 233 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A REMARKABLE BOOKSELLER. James Daunt is the founder of the Daunt Books chain in the UK, and has been managing director of Waterstones, the bookshop chain of more than 300 stores, since 2011. In 2019 he also became CEO of Barnes & Noble, the American bookstore chain of some 650 stores. An Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Daunt was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) i
Jay McInerney on New York During COVID: A City Without People - 283 - Alain Elkann Interviews
COVID REFLECTIONS. Jay McInerney is a well-known American writer, one of the most gifted of his generation. Novelist, screenwriter and wine connoisseur, McInerney recently published See You on the Other Side, the eagerly anticipated final volume of his stunningly accomplished and profoundly affecting fictional tetralogy: Brightness Falls, The Good Life, and Bright Precious Days. "The stories that
Joseph Dirand - 51 - Alain Elkann Interviews
THE MINIMALIST WITH MAXIMUM EXPRESSION. Joseph Dirand is an architect and interior designer based in Paris. He started his own design firm in 1999.
Larry Gagosian - 34 - Alain Elkann Interviews
GLOBAL ART. The art dealer Larry Gagosian has evolved his business into a global network of seventeen exhibition spaces with a vibrant contemporary program that features the work of leading international artists.
Luc Tuymans on the Problem with Today's Art World - 238 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A LINEAGE OF THE REAL AND THE AUTHENTIC. Luc Tuymans is a Belgian visual artist, many of whose paintings explore people's relationship with history and confront their ability to ignore it. World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust is a recurring theme in his many faceted work. Tuymans is a key figure of the generation of European figurative painters who gained renown at a time when many believ
Luke Syson - 136 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CHAMPION 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.
Marcantonio Brandolini d'Adda: How to Turn Family Legacy Into a Modern Business - 288 - 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 EVERYTHI
Michelle Yeoh: "The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Become" - 301 - Alain Elkann Interviews
FEARLESS, ALWAYS EVOLVING. Michelle Yeoh, the Malaysian actress born in 1962, is considered to be one of the greatest female action movie stars. In a career spanning over four decades, she has acted in film and television productions covering a wide range of genres and received various accolades. Yeoh gained global recognition in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and starred in Ang Le
Miquel Barceló - 100 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION. The Spanish contemporary artist Miquel Barceló is known for his relief-like mixed-media paintings, expressive bronze sculptures and ceramics.
Mishal Husain: The Art of the Interview in an Age of Noise - 261 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A JOURNEY THROUGH JOURNALISM. Mishal Husain is a celebrated British journalist who joined Bloomberg from the BBC, where she presented its leading news programme Today on BBC Radio 4 for over a decade. Before joining Today in 2013, she was an anchor on the international news channel BBC World News. In 2024 she was awarded the Charles Wheeler Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism by the B
Nathalie Droulers: Architecture, Taste and the Balance of Opposites - 284 - Alain Elkann Interviews
COMBINING ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN. Nathalie Droulers and her twin sister Virginie were born in Milan in 1973. Nathalie graduated in Architecture from the Polytechnic University in Milan in 1997. She worked in New York as a Creative Director in product design development and in 2000 returned to Italy, where she collaborated with the Milan-based Dstudio as a Project Manager. In 2005 she fou
Patti Smith: The Difference Between Wanting To Be and Being an Artist - 295 - 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 s
Paul Theroux - 195 - Alain Elkann Interviews
WRITERS ARE UNBALANCED PEOPLE. Paul Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer known for his highly personal award-winning observations on many locales. Over 50 works of fiction and travel writing include modern classics The Great Railway Bazaar, The Old Patagonian Express, My Secret History and The Mosquito Coast. Theroux's recent book, Burma Sahib, explores Eric Blair's years as a British
Piero Lissoni on Design, Architecture & Creative Freedom - 286 - 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 Sanlorenz
Roula Khalaf - 112 - Alain Elkann Interviews
DOING BRILLIANTLY. Roula Khalaf is the Editor of the Financial Times (FT). Born in Beirut, after studying in the United States at Syracuse University and Columbia University she first worked for Forbes magazine. From 1995 she was a foreign correspondent at the FT, and in 2016 became Deputy Editor to Lionel Barber, succeeding him as Editor in January 2020.
Saskia de Rothschild - 92 - Alain Elkann Interviews
AN EXTRAORDINARY LOVE OF NATURE. Saskia de Rothschild became the youngest person to lead a first growth Bordeaux wine estate in 2018 at the age of 31.
Sir Norman Rosenthal - 214 - Alain Elkann Interviews
STILL PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES. Sir Norman Rosenthal celebrated his 80th birthday on November 8th 2024. A curator and art historian, he was Exhibitions Officer at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and for many years Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy in London. Recently he curated Georg Baselitz: The Last Decade at the Sabancı Museum in Istanbu
Steve McQueen - 186 - Alain Elkann Interviews
WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE. Sir Steve McQueen CBE is a British film director, film producer, screenwriter, and video artist. Over the last 30 years he has created some of the most innovative works of moving image designed for gallery spaces. He has also directed critically acclaimed feature films, including the Academy Award-winning "12 Years a Slave", as well as "Hunger", "Shame", "Widows", "Bli
Thaddaeus Ropac on Passion, Purpose, and the Future of Contemporary Art - 251 - Alain Elkann Interviews
TOWARDS THE ULTIMATE GALLERY. Thaddaeus Ropac is an Austrian born gallerist specializing in international contemporary art. He founded the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in 1981, and today he represents more than 70 artists with galleries located in Salzburg, Le Marais and Pantin in Paris, London and Seoul. In September 2025 he will open his new 280 m2 space in Palazzo Belgioioso in Milan, with a show ti
The Uffizi: Simone Verde on The Hidden Galleries, New Acquisitions, and the Future of Florence's #1 Institution - 272 - Alain Elkann Interviews
ANTHROPOLOGY REGENERATES CULTURE. Simone Verde is a museologist and art historian who was appointed Director of the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, in December 2023, replacing Eike Schmidt who moved to Capodimonte. From 2014 to 2016 Simone Verde was head of scientific research at the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, and from 2016 to 2023 he directed the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta in Parma, Italy
Thomas Clement Salomon: How Italy Secured a Lost Caravaggio After 60 Years - 278 - Alain Elkann Interviews
REVIVIFYING ROME. Thomas Clement Salomon is the director of Rome's Baroque Palazzo Barberini and the Galleria Corsini since January 2024. Palazzo Barberini is home to the National Gallery of Ancient Art, with a collection of paintings by Caravaggio and other Caravaggesque painters that now includes the very recently acquired Caravaggio Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini. Thomas studied art his
Thomas Heatherwick - 228 - Alain Elkann Interviews
HUMANISE: A DEEPLY PASSIONATE MANIFESTO. Thomas Heatherwick is a British designer whose varied work over two decades is characterised by its originality, inventiveness and humanity. As the founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio, Thomas now heads a team of over 250 problem solvers dedicated to making the physical world around us better for everyone. This team wants to see a world where t
Tino Zervudachi - 137 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A WORLD OF GOOD TASTE. Tino Zervudachi is an internationally acclaimed decorator with an eclectic aesthetic. He has an illustrious clientele that includes some of the world's most discerning business people, art collectors and bohemian aristocrats. His designs can be seen in sumptuous homes around the world.
Tracey Emin - 03 - Alain Elkann Interviews
THE JOB OF THE ARTIST IS TO MAKE TIME STAND STILL says Tracey Emin the renowned British artist as she contemplates her life, saying "When I am old, even if I can't walk I still want to be able to work. Everything I have and I do is towards my art. Art is like a wall. You stop and it talks to you. Art is not competing with technology, machinery, spaceships. Art is something else. Art comes from ano
Valerie Steele: Fashion Is More Than Clothes, Here's Why - 281 - Alain Elkann Interviews
TAKING FASHION SERIOUSLY. Valerie Steele is an American fashion historian and the Director and Chief Curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. A pioneer in the field of fashion studies, she has been instrumental in establishing fashion as a legitimate intellectual and cultural subject. "Both the allure and the problematic aspects of fashion attracted and
Will AI Replace Writers? André Aciman on Love, Writing, and the Future of Literature - 250 - Alain Elkann Interviews
PASSION COMES WITH AN EXPIRATION DATE. André Aciman is an Italian-American writer. Born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, he is the New York Times bestselling author of Call Me by Your Name, Out of Egypt, Eight White Nights, False Papers, Alibis, Harvard Square, Enigma Variations, Homo Irrealis, Roman Year, and Find Me. He is currently a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of the City Un
Tadao Ando - 12 - Alain Elkann Interviews
CONNECTING HUMANS AND NATURE. I interviewed the eminent Japanese architect Tadao Ando at Château La Coste, the beautiful hotel and vineyard located near Aix-en-Provence, where Ando was opening a show of his drawings in the art centre that he built in 2011. Afterwards, Ando was going on to Paris, as he is restoring and rebuilding the Bourse de Commerce building to become a museum that houses the Pi
Colum McCann: Why Storytelling Matters More Than Ever - 305 - Alain Elkann Interviews
FINDING JOY IN DESOLATION Colum McCann's eight novels and three collections of short stories have been published in over forty languages and received some of the world's most prestigious literary awards and honours, including the National Book Award for his novel Let the Great World Spin in 2009. His novel TransAtlantic was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2013, and his most recent work, Ape
Gilda Moratti: A Recipe for Life - Laughing, Dancing and Nature - 304 - Alain Elkann Interviews
JOURNEY OF RESILIENCE. Gilda Moratti is the daughter of the founder of San Patrignano, one of Europe's most important rehabilitation communities that for over 40 years has offered free help to thousands of girls and boys with addiction problems. In Gilda's journal titled Terra, published by Francesco Brioschi Editore, the protagonist Terra is the founder of humanitarian and educational foundations
Valeria Golino on Hollywood, Directing and a Life in Cinema - 303 - Alain Elkann Interviews
ICONIC ITALIAN ACTRESS & FILMMAKER. Valeria Golino is an acclaimed Italian actress and filmmaker. Born in Naples, Italy, she grew up between Greece and Italy and is one of the most internationally recognized Italian figures in cinema, fluent in Italian, Greek, French, and English. To English-language audiences, she is most famous for her prominent roles in late '80s and early '90s American films,
Will AI Replace Translators? Alastair McEwen on the Future of Language - 302 - Alain Elkann Interviews
A LIFE IN TRANSLATION. Alastair McEwen was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in July 1950. He is a man of letters, a former teacher and, above all, one of the most distinguished translators of Italian literature into English. To date, he has published over 100 book-length translations (novels and non-fiction), essays, articles, and poems, plus several feature film scripts and operatic librettos. He h
Jacques Grange: A Life of Art, Taste and Extraordinary Interiors - 299 - Alain Elkann Interviews
THE MASTER OF ECLECTIC DESIGN. Jacques Grange is a world-famous French interior designer, renowned for his eclectic style, high-profile celebrity clientele, and classical training. Born on June 27, 1944, in France, Jacques studied at the École Boulle and the École Camondo in Paris. He worked under legendary designer Henri Samuel, assisting on major restorations like the Grand Trianon at Versailles
Ralph Toledano: Failure, Memory and the Lost World of Tangiers - 298 - Alain Elkann Interviews
TALKING ABOUT A LOST WORLD. Ralph Toledano is an art historian and a writer. He recently published La Lune dans le Tourbillon, the fourth volume of a series of novels that explores the lives, questions of identity and spirituality, failures and hopes of members of the Sephardic elite of Moroccan origin: Un Prince à Casablanca, Revoir Tanger, Le Retour du Phénix were the previous ones. "Forgiveness
Inside the Vatican Museums with Director Barbara Jatta - 296 - Alain Elkann Interviews
MANAGER OF A MASSIVE CULTURAL LEGACY. Barbara Jatta is an Italian art historian and the Director of the Vatican Museums. Appointed by Pope Francis in 2017, she made history as the first woman ever to lead the prestigious institution. A highly respected expert in the history of drawing, engraving, and graphic arts, before her directorship she built a long career at the Vatican, notably serving as t
Patrick Kinmonth on Beauty, Art, and the Meaning of Creativity - 293 - 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 la
Gabriella Cortese: The Founder of Antik Batik on Travel, Craftsmanship & Fashion - 292 - 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 creat
Erri De Luca on Aging, Freedom, and Living Intensely - 291 - 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
What Does China Really Want? Dr. Yu Jie on Xi Jinping, Taiwan and Global Power - 290 - Alain Elkann Interviews
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