Gualtiero Marchesi – Jackson Pollock – Mazzanti
TRIPLE INTERPRETATIONS
An honor and a privilege
In 2009, before the Expo fever broke out, Carla Berioli (gallery owner in Perugia), having seen my interpretations of food from the 1990s, asked me to interpret a dish by the Master Gualtiero Marchesi: “Saffron risotto with gold leaf.”
A beautiful challenge, given that it is one of the most well-known and most photographed dishes of all time (see Marcialis).
I accepted and, given that there were only two months left before the opening of the exhibition, I set the condition that I would present the work only the day before.
I interpreted the dish according to my own vision and, on the day of the opening, the Master, upon seeing the work, decided to write me a dedication that certified my path: “to Paolo Mazzanti, initiator of a new artistic path.”
Following this event, I was invited by Marchesi to one of his restaurants at “L’Albereta,” between Brescia and Milan. On a weekday at lunch, I had the honor of sitting alone in a room while his entire staff at the time (10–15 people) began presenting a sequence of dishes, all inspired by great artists.
He began with Pollock, followed by the others, accompanied by a tasting of Franciacorta wines. That day I took photographs that remained unpublished, as an interpretation precisely of the dish inspired by Jackson Pollock!
Jackson Pollock
In the image we see a detail of the work “Homage to Marchesi” (2009 – Pigments Print on Cotton).