NOTES
THE ART OF MOVEMENT
A CONTEMPORARY GRAND TOUR MILAN – CESENA
MASERATI and Anna Franceschini at Studio Plastikart 2026
D.Repubblica – Gedi Visual, curated by Caroline Corbetta
From her studio in Milan to the historic Maserati factory in Modena, we follow the inspirational journey of artist Anna Franceschini behind the wheel of a Maserati Grecale Trofeo Fuoriserie. Her gaze in motion, the landscape flowing like a film sequence shot outside the car, until creative intuition crystallizes into a work of art.
First stop: Lake Como and its intrinsically Italian beauty
Anna Franceschini’s journey continues through some evocative places in Italy in search of inspiration for her new project. Behind the wheel of the Maserati Grecale Trofeo Fuoriserie SUV, the artist first reaches Bologna, the city where the history of the car manufacturer began and which inspired the famous logo; then she arrives in Modena, at number 322 Viale Ciro Menotti, home of the factory since 1939 and the headquarters of the Trident ever since.
Second stop: Bologna and Modena
Visiting the Maserati factory in Modena, in the previous stage of her Grand Tour, Anna Franceschini began to channel the impressions of the journey into the idea of a work. The materialization of the intuition is close. But the artist follows the desire to drive a little longer, retracing her own artistic path through the gorges and caves of the Marche region at the sensitive wheel of the Grecale Trofeo, before heading to the Plastikart workshop in Cesena, where many of her works are made.
Third stop: Frasassi and Cesena
…
Along the Adriatic motorway, heading north, she returns to Emilia-Romagna, specifically to Cesena, to the PlastikArt Studio, a ‘sculpture, set design and special effects workshop’. Among objects made for theatre productions and museums, window displays and fashion shows, there are also works in progress by artists, including Franceschini herself. She and the owners, Istvan Zimmermann and Giovanna Amoroso, have long collaborated on the kinetic sculptures that have made her work recognizable on the international art scene. ‘At the beginning we used very simple motors, with no electronic components, and jewelry displays, especially hands covered with velvet powder, a technique called flocking. Together we tried to bring gestures to life.’ Now the task is to create another synthesis between craftsmanship and concept, working carefully together. ‘It is beautiful when things are tailor-made, and taking measurements takes time. A measure is not something found at the first instant: it has to be found in space and time. As far as I and what I do are concerned, this was very evident in my relationship with them, as they fabricate and assemble some parts of my sculptures,’ says Anna.
GRECALE WIND
Italy truly is the land of wonders. Even Aeolus, god of the winds according to Greek mythology, lived here, in the Aeolian archipelago that bears his name. In his palace on the island of Lipari he kept a wineskin containing all the winds, including the Grecale, which blows strongly from the northeast. Particularly strong on the eastern coasts of Sicily, it can also be felt along the entire Adriatic coast and inland, all the way to the gorges of the Marche Apennines, where Anna Franceschini drove the Trident SUV named after this powerful wind, embodying dynamism and strength. Inside and outside the Frasassi caves, in the bowels of the mountain, the artist found and filmed a vibrant landscape moved by wind and currents. But the Grecale sometimes also blows over Lake Como, where the contemporary Grand Tour began in the company of this invisible energy that animates the landscape and things, carrying a sense of freedom and adventure.
PLASTIKART
In a quiet residential area on the outskirts of Cesena, camouflaged among small houses, there is a treasure cave, a site of fantastic archaeology, a workshop of wonders. It is called PlastikArt Studio, a place where anything is possible thanks to the imagination and craftsmanship of Istvan Zimmermann and Giovanna Amoroso, partners in work and in life. Coming from distant parts of Europe, they met at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Together, in 1995, they created ‘a sculpture, set design and special effects workshop’. They settled in the Romagna city in 2001, after a period in Paris, thanks to their encounter with the innovator of theatrical language, Romeo Castellucci. As the director’s long-standing collaborators, they create complex stage objects, theatrical machines and humanoid sculptures that define the visual aesthetic of his productions. For the windows of major fashion houses, they create props that ignite the imagination of passers-by around the world. And then there are the artists for whom they find technical solutions to implement their visions. Such as the kinetic sculptures of Anna Franceschini, who points to one here for revision: ‘it is called Smooth Operator; it is a request for the gaze, a movement that tries to draw your vision toward itself.’
A production:
D.Repubblica – Gedi Visual, curated by Caroline Corbetta
DIRECTED BY JACOPO FARINA
FEATURING ANNA FRANCESCHINI
LOCATION IN CESENA, SCULPTURE AND SET DESIGN WORKSHOP BY:
PLASTIKART STUDIO
GIOVANNA AMOROSO & ISTVAN ZIMMERMANN
A COLLATERAL PRODUCTION
PRODUCED BY GUIDO CELLA
FILMS
VIDEO ASSISTANT RAFFAELE DIACONO
PHOTO ASSISTANT DANIELE TORTI
DRONE OPERATOR ALTA MOVIE AERIALS
SOUND TECHNICIAN DAVIDE DEBENEDETTI
SUPER 8 OPERATOR PIERLUIGI LAFFI
HAIR & MAKEUP GAIA DELLAQUILA
STYLIST BENEDETTA BARUFFI
EDITOR VALERIA CORA
EDITOR ASSISTANT RAQUEL CAROLINA MEJIA
COLOR GRADING DANIEL PALLUCCA
SOUND DESIGNER LUCA FORNASIER
PRODUCER GIULIA BURRONI
ASSISTANT PRODUCER VICTORIA SALIERNO
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR GUIDO INGENITO
LOCATION MANAGER GIACOMO TREVIGLIO
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT LEONARDO PASQUA
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT SIMONE MAMBELLA
@maserati ‘The Art of Movement’ with Anna Franceschini (@a_cinema_verite_kind_of_girl)
under the creative direction of @drepubblicait
Photographer & Director: @jacopo_farina
Photographer Assistant: Daniele Torti
Video Assistant: @raffaele.off
Sound Technician: @debe75
Drone Operator: @paolo.rubinelli, Drogheria Emiliana & Alta Movie Aerials
DOP: Pierluigi Laffi
Hair & MUA: @gaiadellaquilamua
Stylist: @benedettabaruffi
Editor: @coraconlaccento
Editor Assistant: Raquel Carolina Mejia
film excerpt: https://www.facebook.com/100065198272527/videos/maserati-larte-del-movimento-with-anna-franceschini-a_cinema_verite_kind_of_girl/960954069763444/