interview with barnaba fornasetti, july 9th, 2001 atelier fornasetti, milan, italy decoration isn’t obselete today, or is it? my father had no doubts about decoration, even if ponti accused him of being behind the times. but decoration can be really overwhelming. what is even more worrysome, though, is this sort of expiating purism which we have been seeing over the last few years...with minimalism. my father adored the concept of minimalism, zen culture, the essence of things. but decoration has kept up pace. what is more striking in a rationalist, clean environment than a fornasetti piece? decoration, in my opinion, is necessary for for modern man’s psyche. decoration colors life a little, creating the illusion of living in a liveable world. decoration today is meant to mitigate squallor, to soften... just look out of the window... fornasetti: art o industry? my father was all for production! but for practical financial reasons he personally signed a few pieces during the last years of his life. but the idea was for objects to be put into production, although physiologically a collection of limited pieces has remained. this is where collecting fornasetti objects comes from. the idea of industrial decoration began with ponti, printing and decorating all kinds of surfaces was revolutionary at that time. my father wanted me to become an artist, he said “make a good living, don’t get caught up in production problems,employees and distribution”. who collects fornasetti? it is hard to define the fornasettian target, there is no one ‘collector’. an elderly man, who recalls that era with affection, museum directors, intellectuals, or even young students. actors, rock stars, elton john... italian collectors...yes, they have finally woken up lately, but also americans, english, greeks, new zealanders... every now and then pieces are included in auctions, christie’s proposes fornasetti pieces occasionally. a fornasetti is ‘eco-sustainable’, it is passed on to one’s children, or resold, but never thrown away! where can you find a vintage original fornasetti? it is more and more difficult, perhaps at antique dealers specialized in 20th century pieces, at flea markets in italy,... a friend in new york found a piece at a junk shop in the bronx... via internet... do you offer a service to restore pieces? restoration is not a problem to be underevaluated. yes, we offer this kind of service. since the materials necessary to make restorations are difficult to procure, for example in the us, the only guarantee that I can give is for the piece to be sent and restored here in our atelier in milan. using an artisan somewhere else is risky because, not knowing the techniques, the piece could actually be damaged even more. if there are any restorers out there interested in coming and learning the techniques we use, we are available. I would be pleased, because collectors abroad would be more protected. and sending a piece of furniture is expensive...