Biography
In 1986, in Italy, a slogan evolved 'Voglia di. Vivere', 'I want to live'. In several widely read magazines and newspapers, this changed to I want to fly, I want to be pretty , I want to live a wonderful life, I want to live my life.
'Voglia di...' was coined by Gabriele Magnani and became the title of his first book. At the time he was the chief executive of the Parma Ham factories, which belonged to his Family Group of Industries, and was one of the most important families in the italian food industry since 1900. From 1985 Gabriele organised with 'Gruppo Giovani del'Industria' severals encounters with intellectuals and artists in Parma, and in his family house Palazzo Magnani in Sala Baganza. In December 1987 for the 'Gruppo Giovani del'Industria' he organised the launch of the Piero Bigongiari book 'L'evento Immobile', published by Jaca Books (Milano), with Roberto Mussapi, Giuseppe Marchetti, Corrado Marsan and Vittorio Sgarbi. In June 1987 at Palazzo Soragna, Parma, Gabriele Magnani launched the poems book by Luciano Luisi 'La Sapienza del Cuore' published by Rusconi. In May 2007 he curated the exhibition by Lino Mannocci 'Postcards' Modula Arte, Parma.
He was ably assisted by his inseparable wife Monica, whom he married in 1982, and who today follows him, every step of his life. Now Monica is correspondent from London for Antiquariato magazine ,Editoriale G. Mondadori/ Cairo Editore.
Gabriele's book was published by an editorial company in Bologna , with the assistance of the RAI Journalist and theologian Padre Gabriele Adani, who was very known at the time, for many broadcast he created for the Antoniano in Bologna. The book recounts Gabriele's terrible experience of his tragic car accident in Italy in July 1973, when he was only 18 years old, and it continues with the account of his rehabilitation in an important Spinal Injures Centre in England, and also his first day out in a wheelchair in London Museums, studying Italian- British and International art.
Gabriele gained his degree in Law in Italy in 1979.
Gabriele was born in Parma, in March 1955.
In 1988 he published with Lucarini in Rome, his second book 'Il Diavolo e la Regina', comprising a series of novels, reviewed an year later, on 'Superwimbledon', in the italian newspaper 'La Repubblica', as one of the most considerable books, among young Italian writers of the period. Always in 1988, he became a professional journalist , learned his trade by writing articles on art for the newspaper 'Gazzetta di Parma', during the period of Baldassarre Molossi, while he was collaborating with the magazine 'Armonie di Anni Verdi', and with the newspaper of the 'Italian Association of Paraplegics', (both in Rome) where he fought for the rights of disabled people. In 1989 Gabriele's journalistic career took off. He met Ronny Bonelli who wanted Gabriele at the Giorgio Mondadori as correspondent in London for 4 magazines of the Giorgio Mondadori Group. At the same time, he met for the first time the architect Ettore Mocchetti ,editor of AD ( Architectural Digest magazine -Italian edition). The magazines were, AD- Arte- Antiquariato- Gardenia.
Two year later he was appointed a similar capacity for 'Bell'Europa'.
Again in 1991, he became art collaborator from London, for the Mattino di Napoli, whose editor was Pasquale Nonno.
Over these years Gabriele published hundreds of articles and coverages as a young Italian art critic, viewing and reporting about all the exhibitions and art events in London in public and private galleries and museums.
In 1995, AD magazine, left Mondadori moving to Condè Nast Group, and Gabriele published his first "Da Londra" in June 1996, as AD correspondent from London.
From then up to today, he publishes every months art reviews, and interviews of international top artists and designers, and news of the intense cultural life of the England Capital. Moreover, between 1996 and 2003 in AD magazine Gabriele published around 50 central big art coverages (six pages each), in particular about European , and British art movements between 1800 and 1950. It's is important to stress that today Gabriele is also an independent curator as shown in his last exhibition 'Mediterraneo' at the Italian Cultural Institute in London. In this occasion he curated this very succesful exhibition, involving 20 embassies and 40 artists from all the Countries around the Mediterranean Sea.
This was the first time that the IIC had appointed an independent art critic for one of its exhibitions. Gabriele had enjoyed his first experience as an art curator in 1989 in Parma, in an exhibition for the Parma Cultural Council, and after that, he continued to curate further art exhibitions throughout Italy.
After (1997) he curated in London the show "Homage to Leonardo" by the Italian artist Carla Tolomeo at the Peter Nahum at the Leicester Galleries, in St.James's.
Invited by the Amministrazione Comunale of Sala Baganza in 1998, Gabriele collaborated to the Exhibition: "The Prince Of Wales's Institute of Architecture: Proposal For Sala Baganza and the Rocca Sanvitale". The exhibition was first in Appartamenti Farnesiani of the Rocca Sanvitale in Sala Baganza e after in Accademia Italiana in London.
He wrote the foreword of Mike Francis' exhibition, that he personally open on the preview on the evening of 24th of June 2008 at the Messum's gallery in Cork Street.
As London agent of the artist Wijdan, Dr.Gabriele collaborated with Waterhouse & Dodd Gallery, for "Routes" exhibition in October 2008, Cork Street,London. Gabriele collaborated with the Royal Academy,Burlington House, Piccadilly London, for the exhibition "Palladio", opening 31th January 2009.
Currently Gabriele is working also intensively, in interior design of private residences, and also of Bars, Restaurants and Hotels, while he has just began to collaborate with Christie's for the 2008 Art Auction in Dubai and London.
In September 2009, Gabriele, as 'art critic', has been invited by Italian 'Ministero Per i Beni E Le Attività Culturali', to partecipate to the opening in Rome of 'Avvertenze Artistiche', a large project about Contemporary Art, in particular for young italian artists, with the 'Direzione Artistica' of Monica Ratti ed Emanuele Ladovaz' and with the collaboration of Vittoria Cappelli, as 'Responsabile Avvertenze Artistiche. The exhibition was organised in the area 'dei mercati dell'imperatore Traiano', in the new 'Traiano Museum- Museum dei Fori Imperiali'.
At the end of 2009, in Rome with Princess Wijdan, started the project to organize the second edition of the exhibition of MEDITERRANEO, to be shown in the National Gallery of Amman.
In March 2010, in honour of Parma (where Gabriele was born in 1955) and the Italian Old Master Correggio, Gabriele organized, with the Accademia Italiana della Cucina in London, a big party and dinner in the italian restaurant Sartoria in Savile Row in London. The name of the very successful evening was: 'Parma la sua alta scuola gastronomica e il Correggio'. During the evening the special guest Prof. David Eskerdjian, famous expert of Correggio and Parmigianino, made a very particular speech.
In June 2011 at the Estorick Collection Museum, Gabriele has been curator with Roberta Cremoncini (director of the Museum in Islington) of the exhibition "United Artists of Italy" from the Massimo Minini Collection. It is a Photographic Collection about the most known Italian international artists of the 20th Century. The photographs are from some top Italian photographers of the Novecento Italiano like Ugo Mulas, Elisabetta Catalano, Nino Migliori, Gabriele Basilico, Mimmo Jodice , and many others.
In 2012 with his wife Monica Mortarelli for AD Italia magazine they wrote a special London Guide for art, architecture, galleries, shops, restaurants, hotels, The London Jubilee and also special interviews with the designers Sir Paul Smith and Stella McCartney.
In the 2014/2015 he collaborated with curator Xavier Bray , for an important painting in the collection Fondazione Magnani -Rocca, Mamiano , Parma, for the exhibition ' Goya : The Portraits ' at the National Gallery,London, October 2015-January 2016
Today Gabriele is agent in London for the artists: Patrick Altes, Carlo Bernardini, Gaetano Castelli, Gianni Cestari, Robert Cook, Mauro Davoli, Phoebe Dickinson, Mike Francis, Giovanni Frangi, Kostas Fosteris, John Lessore, Catia Magni, Houria Niati, Kimia Rahgozar, Steve Sabella, Medhat Shafik, Alex Shundi, Nigel Waymouth, and Wijdan Al-Hashemi.