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The Snake Table
Valentina Guidi Ottobri
Slate table top inlaid with scagliola 150x80 cm
Designed in a creative partnership between VGO Associates and Leonardo Bianchi, representing the new generation of Scagliola creators, it pays homage to alchemists past and present. Alchemists liked to call themselves "Hermetic philosophers," named after Hermes Trismegistus, the patriarch of natural mysticism who passed on knowledge to the ancient Egyptians, including, among other things, hieroglyphic writing. Hence the practice of interpreting symbols
and multidisciplinary languages such as chemistry, physics, astrology, metallurgy, and medicine, which have left countless traces in the history of art.
Handcrafted in Scagliola by Bianco Bianchi exclusively for VGO Associati in 2020
Valentina Guidi Ottobri
Valentina Guidi Ottobri is an independent curator and buyer with international experience, and the founder of VGO Associates. With a background in human sciences and communications, she studied in Siena, Milan (Istituto Marangoni), and London (Central Saint Martins), uniting fashion, art and design in a personal and dreamlike curatorial vision.
She has curated major exhibitions such as Design on Water (Sky Arte HD), Hypersensitive Renaissance (Palazzo Strozzi), Divine Disproportion (Secondome), Elemania (Elena Salmistraro's first solo exhibition), and Land, dedicated to terracotta. She collaborates with artisans and young talents on experimental collections that celebrate creative uniqueness.
In her interior design work, she creates emotional and symbolic environments based on holistic philosophies. She was head of the Design department at Luisaviaroma, and her work has been published in AD, Vogue, Wallpaper, Marie Claire, and many other international publications.