Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda, photographed by Simon de Pury
Artist, artisan, thinker: Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda hails from one of the most significant Venetian families and is a contemporary reincarnation of a Renaissance rebel, with looks and connections to match. He tells LUX his manifesto for 2026 and beyond
“From next year, I’m not going to be an entrepreneur, nor an artist or a designer – I’m just going to be me. There should be a new word, perhaps, to communicate all those personas in one – like a kind of Frankenstein.
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I suppose putting things into categories is part of life. But for me, there’ll be no more putting things into boxes or letting others define what I am.
“Moduli Luminosi” solo exhibition at David Gill, London, 2025
From next year, my direction is clear: I’m focusing on my artistic development – on developing my creative soul, my language. I think others should “feel” what you are.
My question has always been: why am I creating work for the public to see? Is it to express my feelings? To confront social injustices? The new work I’m putting together is an attempt to answer that question.
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My creative process has three stages. It starts with confusion – with an existentialist question, such as, “what’s the point of life?” The answers can be infinite. Then I start writing answers and asking more questions, digging until I get an answer to investigate with intensity. This stage is rough. I write differently. My hands hurt from how tightly I press the pencil. Then comes the final stage: peace. That intensity dissolves into a line, shape, drawn in pastel. At that point I’ve answered my question. I feel complete.
White Pool glassware designed by Alvise De Mezzo, by Laguna~B, of which Brandolini d’Adda is Artistic Director
In my next work, glass is out. People always say, “glass is your passion”, but it has never been a material I’ve liked to express myself with. I want to understand what I am doing and why and communicate that to the public. For now, that means not using glass. It might eventually come back in another form, but it’s a question I hope this research will answer.
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This work is important to me. I never went to art school, so this process of realising what life and art should be comes entirely from within. It’s not something I’ve been taught.
Marcantonio Brandolini d’Adda at work in his studio
Coming from a famous family can be a challenge. But I see it as an opportunity, a tool to communicate with the public and understand what might be useful to them. I can’t hold a conversation for more than 10 minutes. If I can do it through art, then maybe my background will become a “fuck you” to everyone.
Venice is in my DNA. It’s a city that gives me tranquillity, space. But I want my business to grow beyond that – to stand alone. I will have an atelier open to the public in Venice. You may see some glass, but also what’s next – perhaps performance, or sculpture, too.
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