Collectibles and modern art: interview with Herat De Nicola

Collectibles and modern art: interview with Herat De Nicola.

Strolling for Milano, and precisely in the heart of the Amendola-Buonarroti district - known for being a lively center of Milanese intellectual life - there are treasure chests of art in which it is possible to admire modern antiques and extraordinary design objects. Just like the Important Design art gallery in Herat De Nicola, a collector with a passion for 900th century objects and antiques, but also and above all with an authentic interest in the dissemination of these splendid artefacts that have made history of Italian design. We asked him a few questions to learn more about his story and find out what can be hidden behind a wonderful art object. The interview.

• Herat, let's start from the beginning: tell us a little about where your passion for art collecting and modern antiques comes from.

Let's say that my passion for art and design grew with me, in the sense that I was lucky enough to come from a decidedly bohemian family environment, where creativity was interpreted not so much as a professional category, but as an attitude for looking at world. Of course in the 70s and 80s Milano there was an air of great excitement, there was a great desire for change and experimentation. Milano has always paid great attention to developing an educational and cultural offer attentive to art and aesthetic themes. In the 80s, splendid international-level exhibitions were seen at Palazzo Reale, every morning the Gardella Contemporary Art Pavilion was practically manned by school groups and at the Triennale or at the Rotonda della Besana already then educational activities and workshops aimed at develop their own aesthetic sensitivity even in the littlest ones.

All this humus certainly worked inside me and as I grew up I found myself considering art, modernism and design as part of my own identity.

• In short, you have made a family passion yours, slowly giving shape to your business today. What are its distinctive elements?

By nature I am an extremely concrete person and this has always led me to consider every aesthetically valuable product as something more to be promoted than contemplated. The action component has always prevailed in me and therefore it became natural to fit into that system through the perspective of commerce. Through activity De Nicola Modern Art Milano I have been trying to make my contribution towards valorising the cultural heritage produced in Italy in the last century for several years now.

In the past I felt a greater sense of separation when I dealt with art artefacts rather than product design, but over time I tend to have a less compartmentalised vision, I am more interested in identifying what unites rather than what separates. On the other hand, if we think about our greatest personalities: Giò Ponti, Piero Fornasetti, Bruno Munari, Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, we understand the importance of maintaining a more transversal and multidisciplinary approach when talking about art and design. This is why I decided to open the gallery Important design in via Mosé Bianchi 2, Milano, a space that does not want to be a mere place of sale, rather a small "meeting point" in which to show and share with the inhabitants of the neighborhood what for me is an expression of beauty.

• What do you look for most in objects?

Let's say that objects refer to the more general world of products and behind every product there is a production process. From a personal background, the topic of executive processes is something that has always fascinated me because there are ways and ways to do things; this giving importance to how you do something means considering the execution part as part of the content of a project. I'll give a concrete example: when Richard Sapper presented the Tizio lamp together with Artemide he not only laid the foundations for an incredible formal revolution of the "table lamp" typology, the strength of that object found its lifeblood and origins in its astonishing ability to emit light without the aid of electrical cables, thanks to a structure capable of becoming a conductor of energy. So to answer your question I would say that first of all in a valuable object I look for its ability to express a sense of executive innovation and perfection in the development of details.

• What other characteristics must an artefact have for it to become part of your collection?

As I mentioned, the theme of technical innovation is accompanied by that of formal innovation, all objects produced by Man are not only tools for use, but above all act as communication tools, this potential can be expressed in more or less consciously. The ability of an object to tell a story helps to define its value, a value which is of an emotional nature even before being economic. It is no coincidence that when I carry out expertise and evaluations of works of art, when I buy modern antiques and design, the people who submit their materials to me often give great space to the emotional story built around that specific object or work. This ability of objects to become part of a family narrative fascinates me greatly and persuades me to increasingly consider what I do as an activity of protection and care of materials created to build a dialogue with us.

• What trajectories do you foresee for the world of collecting?

The digital revolution and above all the spread of social media is causing enormous transformations in the way of interpreting collecting. Previously, research activity, conservation and exchange of materials took place through very direct and consolidated relationships. If on the one hand the accessibility to information and products was more filtered, on the other there was a greater guarantee of quality. Now the web is making it possible to share and exchange contents of all sorts, but these paradoxically need to be analyzed with greater professionalism and a critical spirit than before, because now the norm is to come across a lot of junk to which a value that is not certainly corresponding to reality. The recommendation I make is to carefully evaluate who you buy or sell art, antiques or modern antiques from. You need to choose the right interlocutor, read the reviews and understand whether the person in front of you is a competent and respected person in the sector. Personally, when I buy modern antiques in Milano as elsewhere, I always try to put all my professionalism into understanding and evaluating exactly the real value of what I have in front of me

• Herat De Nicola, how do you look to the future?

With the positivity and enthusiasm that I have always had. It always fascinates me to think how my desire to look to the future is rooted in the things from the past that I deal with. This makes me feel in harmony because good things need to be told to continue living.

De Nicola Modern Art

Important design

Via Mosé Bianchi, 2 – 20149 Milano

tel. 02 36525419 – cell. 339 6265230

email: modernariatodenicola@gmail.com

times

Monday – Saturday: 10/12 – 16/18

Call for appointment

www.modernariatodenicola.com