Photo © Curiosity ricevuta da Alessandra Reggiani, sua cara amica di quando erano brillanti studentesse. Ricordavamo tutti, in quelle ore, la sua passione e determinazione, il suo grande talento professionale. Barbara Balestreri, affermata lighting designer internazionale, diceva dei suoi progetti, in particolare delle grandi mostre:“ sono sempre una sfida, ma anche un’ opportunità per confrontarmi con autori e curatori, e con gli stessi artisti”. E molti sono quelli con cui lei lavorava, come è stato in più occasioni Arnaldo Pomodoro. Ci piace qui ricordare anche un’ altra sua frase, proprio a proposito del grande artista:“ Pomodoro lavora con la materia concreta. Il mio compito era modellarne una astratta: la luce”. Per i suoi contrasti armonici di luce artificiale e naturale Barbara trovava molta ispirazione anche nel capolavoro di Kubrick Barry Lyndon. La stessa armonia che c’ era in lei e che non dimenticheremo, così come siamo certi non farà tutto il mondo della luce. Nel libro di Franco Manzoni Vite milanesi ricordo una frase, che più o meno cito:“ Sono nomi e volti noti e meno noti che nel giorno più triste del calendario se ne vanno, ma che lasciano un segno, spesso indelebile, nella vita e nella storia di molti”. Quell’ indimenticabile segno, oggi non solo per il mondo della luce italiana, è quello di Barbara Balestreri. Che lascia il marito Enrico Villa, gli splendidi figli Giorgio e Riccardo, la mamma Tina. Lascia gli amici e le amiche, le colleghe e i colleghi che l’ hanno conosciuta, amata e stimata come donna, madre, lighting designer. Lascia il mondo della luce, forse incontrerà Kubrick e parleranno di luce e di Barry Lyndon. A tutti noi, nel cuore, l’ indimenticabile prezioso ricordo della sua raffinata Armonia di luce. In queste pagine nate d’ incanto in un giorno di grande dolore, in un passaparola tra amici e colleghi, colmo di affetto e tristezza, vogliamo ricordare Barbara Balestreri per tutti.
In memory of Barbara Balestreri Harmony of light
That day, Franco Manzoni- writer, poet and journalist, who for twenty years in his column Addii( Farewells), on the pages of the Corriere della Sera, have been remembering the protagonists of the extraordinary and normal mosaic made of stories, of commitment, of work, and of humanity that is our life and the life of the others- wrote about Barbara Balestreri, a designer inspired by light: " Brilliant, determined, brave, she was a designer of light of international fame, appreciated for her stylistic elegance and design concept ". He also wrote more in his heartfelt remembrance... that Barbara was born in Milan on September 13th, 1965, and that she graduated in 1989 in industrial architecture at the Politecnico, with a thesis on natural light. That she immediately created a young working group in her studio, in the Buenos Aires area of Milan. That she designed for the FAI several lighting projects for many historical properties, some of which we want to remember in these pages dedicated to Barbara: from Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan to the Monastery of Torba in Castelseprio, from Villa dei Vescovi in Padua to the Biblioteca del Viceré in the Castello di Masino, Turin. And again, in Milan, the projects for the Church of San Marco, the Pomodoro Foundation and the Fontana hall at the Museo del Novecento. Manzoni, in his delicately written reporter ' s note, reminded us that Barbara also took care of the lighting projects for the major fashion brands in the world – such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Céline, Fendi, Givenchy,
Jimmy Choo, Versace, Berluti – and for large exhibitions in major museums – to mention a few: the admirable ones of Boccioni, Cézanne, Bacon, and Balla at Palazzo Reale in Milan; Hayez at the Pinacoteca di Brera; Gastone Novelli, the great works of Arnaldo Pomodoro, the Atto Unico of Jannis Kounellis at the Fondazione Pomodoro in Milan; Degas, Monet, and Renoir at the GAM of Turin; Canova at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. On that day, we received the sad news from Alessandra Reggiani, her dear friend of when they were bright students. We all remembered, in those hours, her passion and determination, and her great professional talent. Barbara Balestreri, a well-known international lighting designer, said of her projects, in particular of the great exhibitions: " they are always a challenge, but also an opportunity to confront myself with authors and curators, and with the artists themselves." And many are those with whom she worked, as Arnaldo Pomodoro has been on several occasions. We would like to remember another sentence of hers, just about this great artist: " Pomodoro works with the concrete matter. My task was to model an abstract one: light ". For her harmonic contrasts of artificial and natural light, Barbara found much inspiration in Kubrick ' s masterpiece Barry Lyndon. The same harmony that was in her and that we will not forget, and we are sure that neither the whole world of light will. In the book by Franco Manzoni Vite milanesi, I remember a phrase, which I here more or less quote: " These are known and lesser-known names and faces that are gone on the saddest day of the calendar, leaving a mark, often indelible, in the life and in the history of many." Today, and not only for the Italian lighting world, that unforgettable sign is that of Barbara Balestreri. She leaves her husband Enrico Villa, her wonderful sons Giorgio and Riccardo, and mother Tina. She leaves friends and colleagues who have known her, loved her, and respected her as a woman, mother, lighting designer. She leaves the world of light, and maybe she will meet Kubrick and talk with him about light and Barry Lyndon. To all of us, in our hearts, the unforgettable and precious memory of her refined Harmony of light. In these pages, born in a day of great pain, in a word-of-mouth between friends and colleagues, full of affection and sadness, we want to remember Barbara Balestreri, for everyone.
D & G showroom, Aoyama, Tokyo
EDITORIAL / LUCE 325 21