
By Giulia Piceni. Photos by Naufal Farras, courtesy of Collezione Maramotti.
Located in the outskirts of Reggio Emilia, Collezione Maramotti offers a unique blend of contemporary art and architectural innovation. During the kick-off meeting for their first-semester industrial project, postgraduate students from the Curating Art & Fashion and Art Management courses had the opportunity to spend a day at Collezione Maramotti.
The building, which emerges from a unique landscape combining industrial areas with fields of agricultural land that define the Pianura Padana, is a true oasis of peace, housing a thoughtfully curated collection. In this remarkable space, students experienced a distinctive architectural environment alongside a refined array of artwork spanning from modern art history to contemporary pieces.




When the Architecture Already Encapsulates the Ethos of the Collection
After a quick trip by train, the students reached their final destination: Collezione Maramotti. The building that stood before them featured austere, brick-dominated architecture reminiscent of the 1950s. With a comprehensive introduction from the staff, they learned that this structure was originally the headquarters of the Max Mara fashion group. Designed in 1957 by architects Antonio Pastorini and Eugenio Salvarani, the building’s design was groundbreaking for its time. It prioritised natural light and ventilation through expansive windows and skylights, while placing service areas outside the central structure to maximise internal flexibility. This innovative approach created a versatile space capable of serving multiple purposes, embodying the brand’s forward-thinking ethos.
In 2003, Max Mara relocated to a larger headquarters, and the original building was transformed into a cultural space to showcase Achille Maramotti’s extensive collection of contemporary art. Architect Andrew Hapgood spearheaded the renovation with a thoughtful approach that preserved the building’s industrial character. He introduced significant architectural improvements, such as adding skylights to bring natural light into the galleries and redesigning the entrance for better accessibility and visitor flow. Additionally, two new interior volumes were created to enrich the spatial dynamics, allowing light to penetrate the heart of the ground floor while providing space for large-scale artworks.



Exploring the Collezione Maramotti: A Journey Through Post-WWII Art
After an initial introduction to Collezione Maramotti, it was finally time to experience the collection’s vast and invaluable content firsthand. Spanning two floors, the permanent exhibition showcased post-WWII art, thoughtfully arranged by chronology, artistic movements, and national origins.
The first floor highlighted Italian and European works from the 1950s to the 1980s, with a particular focus on Arte Povera and Transavanguardia, while the second floor centred on American and European pieces from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Open spaces on both levels were dedicated to installations and sculptures, fostering a dynamic interplay between art and architecture.

Notable works included Claudio Parmiggiani’s Caspar David Friedrich, prominently displayed in a central atrium, and Vito Acconci’s audio installation, Due o tre strutture che s’aggancino a una stanza per sostenere un boomerang politico, meticulously reconstructed in its original 1978 layout.
Before the kick-off meeting for their semester-long project, the students took the time to explore the ground floor, which housed an archive and library dedicated to preserving the collection’s history and identity. The archive contained extensive documentation on the artists and their works, while the library offered an impressive selection of artist books, avant-garde journals, and catalogues from major exhibitions and biennials. Available by appointment to researchers, students, and art enthusiasts, these resources provided a unique opportunity for in-depth engagement with the collection, fostering ongoing dialogue and discovery.



The Art of Collecting: Achille Maramotti’s Vision
During a brief pause, the students reflected on their first impressions of the collection, which sparked curiosity about the man behind it. Achille Maramotti, the founder, was deeply committed to painting, a passion he developed at the age of eighteen, as noted by his heirs. His dual identity as both an entrepreneur and a collector was exemplified by a pivotal moment when he chose to invest in Max Mara’s growth, buying a machine for the company instead of purchasing a self-portrait by Francis Bacon. Years later, he was then able to acquire a Bacon, fulfilling a long-held aspiration.
Maramotti built strong relationships with artists like Claudio Parmiggiani, who has a dedicated room for his works, and prioritised early-career pieces that illustrate the evolving visions of artists. Highlights include Alighiero Boetti’s diptych on death and crime, as well as Jannis Kounellis’ early canvases, which showcase Maramotti’s foresight, even as Kounellis transitioned to installation art. Throughout his life, Maramotti’s passion for discovering new talent remained strong. His heirs continue this legacy by expanding the collection and supporting contemporary art through a prestigious prize, ensuring a platform for future generations of artists.






The Max Mara Art Prize for Women: Supporting Emerging Female Artists
The Max Mara Art Prize for Women is a prestigious biennial award established in 2005 dedicated to supporting emerging female-identifying artists based in the UK. The prize originated as a collaboration between Max Mara Fashion Group and Whitechapel Gallery, with Collezione Maramotti joining as a partner in 2007. This award aims to nurture the work of creatives at a pivotal stage in their careers, reflecting the vision of the collection’s founder, Achille Maramotti.
The most recent winner, Dominique White, is a well-known artist in the Florentine art community. She recently exhibited her work at Spazio Veda in Manifattura Tabacchi at the beginning of summer. On the ground floor, where temporary exhibitions take place, a dimly lit space is dedicated to White’s exhibition titled Deadweight. Her sculptures, emerging from the darkness like relics washed ashore after a storm, bear a weight that draws them toward the ground, creating a sense of instability as they assume precarious positions.
The pieces are made from wood and rusted iron and take on an anthropomorphic quality, evoking the image of a ribcage shattered by the sea’s relentless waves and rocks, giving viewers the unsettling impression of confronting a corpse. The lightweight fabrics that cling to these structures look like remnants of skin and organs, akin to the soft tissue of a body that has been stripped away. This effect is intensified when one learns that each wooden piece, whether it represents a sternum or spine, has been soaked in the Mediterranean Sea, with its scars absorbing the silent voices of countless lost souls.
Long drawn to nautical themes, Dominique White uses these symbols from a postcolonial perspective, exploring the sea’s regenerative power through her Afro-diasporic standpoint. Deadweight, a term that refers to all contents measured on a ship, serves as a multifaceted concept that embodies the symbolic and visual imagery present in White’s work. Her skeletal forms resemble both anchors and parts of a vessel and the remnants of human bodies. This fusion of nautical elements with forms compellingly evokes themes of memory and loss.