RAFFAELE CARRIERI GREW UP WITH ECLECTIC TASTES.#THE SON OF A PHOTOGRAPHER OF ART AND DESIGN, RAFFAELE IS ALSO#THE GRANDSON (AND NAMESAKE) OF AN IMPORTANT FIGURE IN THE WORLD#OF 20TH CENTURY CULTURE; POET, CRITIC AND ALONGSIDE PICASSO,#ONE OF THE FIRST COLLECTORS OF PRIMITIVE SCULPTURE. AS A CHILD HE#WAS IN CONTACT GIUSEPPE UNGARETTI, LUCIO FONTANA AND GIORGIO#DE CHIRICO AND ALL THE GREAT ITALIAN ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS.##RAFFAELE LISTENED, OBSERVED AND TRAVELLED. ARRIVING IN KURDISTAN,#HE DISCOVERED ROLLS OF SHAGGY PILE, DECORATED FELTS, MATS AND#PILES OF COLOURFUL FLEECE – UNIQUE PIECES WITH PRIMEVAL ORIGINS,#HUMBLE AND YET REFINED; MASTERPIECES THAT HAVE BEEN TRODDEN ON#AND HANDED DOWN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.#HIS JOURNEY LED HIM TO THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS, CRADLE OF INDO-EUROPEAN#NOMADIC CULTURE, WHERE HE FOUND TALENTS THAT SEEMED NEW AND YET#AGED BACK 4000 YEARS. HE HAD DISCOVERED A PASSION THAT WAS TO ENDURE.##IN 1994 HE OPENS ALTAI IN MILAN, THE GALLERY WHERE RAFFAELE AND#ELISA ARE HOSTS TO A COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE CARPETS AND PRIMITIVE#TAPESTRIES, ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

MARIO CARRIERI WAS BORN IN MILAN IN 1932.#HIS YOUTH SAW THE CITY BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL CENTRE OF ART#AND CULTURE WHERE HE FOUND HIMSELF ASSOCIATING WITH THE LIKES OF#EUGENIO MONTALE, LUCIO FONTANA, GIO PONTI AND MAN RAY.##MILAN WAS MARIO'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBJECT. THIS WAS FOLLOWED#BY AFRICAN, ETRUSCAN AND GREEK SCULPTURE, AND ALL THE BIG NAMES#IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN. HIS IMAGES WERE ACQUIRED FOR THE#COLLECTIONS OF MOMA IN NEW YORK.#WITH THE CLICKS OF HIS CAMERA MARIO CARRIERI GIVES A SOUL BACK TO#AN OBJECT, REVEALING ITS HIDDEN IDENTITY. SCULPTURES BECOME FLESH,#AS DO THE NUDES, THE HANDS, THE BUTTERFLY WINGS, THE FLOWER PETALS.#DRAMATIC, SENSUAL, IMPECCABLE IMAGES. LIGHT AND SHADE CREATE A#SOLEMN AND MAJESTIC SILENCE, THE SCALE IS UNIMPORTANT: A BAULE MASK,#A JEAN NOUVEL TABLE, A PIECE OF ARCHITECTURE BY RENZO PIANO, ALL#BECOME CUT-OUTS FROM A TIME OUTSIDE TIME, EXACT FRACTALS OF THE#INFINITE, WHERE STRUCTURES COINCIDE AND PERFECTION IS REACHED.

POETRY IS THE VERY ESSENCE OF RAFFAELE CARRIERI'S VISION, A VISION#THAT OUTLINED THE PASSING OF THE DAYS, THAT WARMED, EVEN BURNT#WHAT IT SAW. IT IS THE POETRY OF HIS VERSES, OF THE FEVERISH RESEARCH,#OF THE ART HE STUDIED AND COMMENTED ON, THAT INSPIRES, NEAR AND FAR,#KNOWN AND UNKNOWN. IT'S THE LIFEBLOOD THAT RUNS, DIRECTED BY HIS#FITFUL CURIOSITY, THE SUN THAT GUIDES HIS WRITING, HIS TRAVELS,#HIS TIRELESS LIFESTYLE.##AS A BOY HE RAN AWAY FROM TARANTO TO ALBANIA AND WENT TO JOIN#D'ANNUNZIO IN FIUME, THEN IT WAS PARIS WITH THE ARTISTS AND FINALLY#MILAN. THE PHOTOGRAPHS BEAR WITNESS TO A LIFE FULL OF ENCOUNTERS.#THE MOST IMPORTANT NAMES OF THE 1900S GRACED RAFFAELE CARRIERI'S#STUDIO, HIS LIFE, HIS ESSAYS AND NOTEBOOKS.##POETRY PERMEATES NOT ONLY HIS WORK BUT HIS WHOLE LIFE.