The hundred year history of Toscanini as told by Fabio Nicola
Success is never down to one man only.That’s why we decided to invite as many people as possible to take part in the celebration of such an important milestone for Industrie Toscanini: our centenary year. We launched many initiatives aimed at sharing our history, and one of them, our contribution to the Arte Festival 2020 exhibition, was very much a unique occasion, which gave us the opportunity to show our coat hangers from an artistic point of view. Various artists displayed their works inspired by our coat hangers in the exclusive setting of Palazzo d’Adda in Varallo Sesia, in an event which promotes the artistic and cultural activities of the Valsesia area.
And so, the Toscanini coat hangers took on forms which had never been seen before, in an artistic study aimed at capturing their essence, with surprising results emerging from the favourite tools of expression of the artists who offered their highly personal and truly fascinating interpretation of these objects.
Art celebrates the centenary of Toscanini
Tommaso Verdesca, Daniele Verdesca, Fabio Nicola/Homo Faber, Christian Costa and Silvano Rotti are the artists who presented their interpretation of the coat hanger in an artistic dimension which fits well with our style. As far back as 2012, in fact, one of our products became a “work of art” through the installation by the Albanian artist Anila Rubiku at that year’s Venice Biennale exhibition.
Artistic stories: Toscanini and Fabio Nicola
We’d like to introduce you to another artist who was able to mould our history into art, Fabio Nicola.
Born in Biella, he became fascinated by the way in which his father processed precious materials in his restoration workshop, where he learned how to use the tools of the trade and developed the desire to make his own contribution. He studied the techniques and secrets of the trade at the Barolo school in Varallo, then went on to open the HomoFaber restoration workshop together with his brother. Here, as well as dedicating himself to the art of restoration, Fabio began his individual artistic journey, which focused on a search for balance and the synthesis of craft skills developed with the wisdom and ability of those who went before him, and through the abstract forms typical of his works. The works of Fabio Nicola reveal the infinite possibilities inherent in the dialogue between the sculptor’s hands and the material.
The work entitled “Mani” (Hands) arises out of an awareness of the central role which the hands play in artistic creation. They create the product, but at the same time they themselves are a work of art, due to the centuries of experience which they transmit to the material as they transform it. It’s the hands that move the wooden board from which the coat hanger emerges, and it’s the hands which polish it, finish it, and use it in the home or shop. In this way, the hand is the central theme of a physical relationship and ongoing dialogue with the coat hanger. His second work, “Pergamena” (Parchment), interprets the centenary of Toscanini as a story which unrolls, just like a parchment, in a kind of continuum in which the generations follow each other without interruption. The hook reflects the logo of the Toscanini centenary, while the sculpture is the perfect synthesis of the company’s work – a coat hanger made in part by a robot and in part by human hands.
