ENZO CATELLANI

The creative career of Enzo Catellani is well known, and his lighting is a demonstration of his past ability and his ever evolving creativity. Instead, little has been spoken of his private life and what led him to develop these abilities.
Is creativity inborn? On the one hand, yes, and on the other, it is stimulated by situations that surround us. Inactivity does not lead to creation. External activity, but above all the internal tangle of sensations and feelings lead us to create something. And this is his case. Rebellious, obstinate, but often also introverted and fearful of the world, he aimed for a future that was diametrically opposed to his origins, which led him, in a few years, to try and achieve everything that he was able to imagine.
Advanced technology combined with forms that are too simple and at times too over-elaborate are the meeting point between what the artist was and what he could have been. It is from this that, in 1989, he established Catellani & Smith, today a leading company in the lighting sector.
An unusual company because, as he explains, it is craft industry that was created out of a challenge, today in tune with the most advanced technology. The company’s headquarters can be found in a small town situated 5 kilometres from Bergamo in Lombardy. The offices are housed in an old restored mill with a view over the hills, and production takes place in two distinct areas: one along the river and the second in a new warehouse in the industrial area, which consists of large luminous spaces and terraces covered with jasmine plants. The roof features a gravel surface, large Indian vases, a bust of Buddha and a 360° view.