About VGO

 ITA/

Nata a Firenze il 1 Maggio 1988, Valentina (Guidi) Ottobri è una visionaria Curatrice Contemporanea. Con una formazione umanistica si approccia al mondo dell’arte e del design attraverso la semiotica, l’antropologia e le materie olistiche, argomenti di vita e di studio nel suo percorso di laurea in Lettere e Filosofia all'Università di Siena (UNISI) con indirizzo in “Scienze della comunicazione”. Nel 2011 consegue un master in Brand management presso l'Instituto Marangoni di Milano e otto anni dopo un altro in “curatela delle arti”  all’ UAL Central Saint Martins di Londra.

VGO ha lavorato presso Bottega Veneta nelle pubbliche relazioni e ha accettato per breve tempo un lavoro come stylist per la rivista Marie Claire India, a Mumbai. E’ li’ che affina la sua estetica. Tra l’oscurità e i colori sgargianti. Tornata a Firenze nel 2012 all'età di 23 anni entra a far parte dell'esclusivo concept store della città, Luisa Via Roma con il ruolo di junior buyer. E’ per questa azienda che fonderà da zero due anni più tardi il reparto Design, una delle sue più grandi passioni.Nei Sette anni successivi Valentina si  occuperà degli acquisti, dell’ideazione dell’immagine e di tutta la realizzazione creativa degli allestimenti in store con installazioni su misura che si trasformano ogni 6 mesi. Famosa la casa di Natale, progettata assieme a Cristina Celestino e Eden, un giardino sensoriale che Ottobri decide di far disegnare a Sara Ricciardi.

 VGO è autrice di diverse mostre tra cui Design on Water (2016) in collaborazione con Sky Arte HD, supportando attivamente la generazione dei giovani talenti con una serie di collezioni stand-alone, realizzate in collaborazione con piccoli studi artigianali o in modo indipendente, al fine di mettere in luce la visione unica di ciascuno e la sperimentazione creativa.

 Il suo lavoro si trova in numerose collezioni pubbliche come il Museo di Palazzo Strozzi a Firenze, dove ha curato una mostra performativa nel 2017 insieme alla giovane artista Reverie come contributo alla mostra di Bill Viola.Ha collaborato con diverse gallerie, Fondazioni (Michelangelo Foundation), musei e Case d'Asta. Memorabile la sua mostra sull’alchimia curata per Cambi nel 2019.

Il suo lavoro è stato pubblicato su varie riviste internazionali tra cui The New York Times Magazine, Architectural Digest, Vogue, Artribune, Wallpaper e altre ancora. Nel 2019 ha fatto parte della giuria di Frame Awards ad Amsterdam e ha curato una mostra a Milano dal titolo Land, sull'uomo, la natura e la “terra”.

 Nel 2020 in piena era covid decide di Fondare VGO Associates. Una nuova galleria en plein air nel sud della Francia, basata sull'idea di interagire in modo diverso con gli oggetti e gli spazi che popolano la nostra vita quotidiana. Con VGO Associates attualmente sta lavorando a progetti su misura in un dialogo tra arte e architettura, collaborando attivamente con Iconici Brand di Design, artisti, designers, artigiani e operatori olistici che forniscono le fondamenta per i suoi nuovi progetti di interni.

ENG /

Born in Florence on May 1, 1988, Valentina (Guidi) Ottobri is a visionary Contemporary Curator.

With a humanistic education he approaches the world of art and design through semiotics, anthropology and holistic subjects, subjects of life and study in his degree course in Literature and Philosophy at the University of Siena (UNISI) with specialization in "Communication Sciences".

In 2011 she obtained a master's degree in brand management at the Instituto Marangoni in Milan and eight years later another in "curating the arts" at the UAL Central Saint Martins in London.

VGO worked at Bottega Veneta in public relations and briefly accepted a job as a stylist for Marie Claire India magazine, in Mumbai. It is there that her aesthetic is refined. Between the darkness and the bright colors.

She returned to Florence in 2012 at the age of 23 and she joined the exclusive concept store of the city, Luisa Via Roma with the role of junior buyer. It is for this company that she will found the Design department from scratch two years later, one of her greatest passions.

In the following seven years, Valentina will take care of the purchases, the conception of the image and all the creative creation of the in-store settings with tailor-made installations that are transformed every 6 months. The Christmas house is famous, designed together with Cristina Celestino and Eden, a sensory garden that Ottobri decides to have Sara Ricciardi design.

VGO is the author of several exhibitions including Design on Water (2016) in collaboration with Sky Arte HD, actively supporting the generation of young talents with a series of stand-alone collections, created in collaboration with small artisan studios or independently, at in order to highlight each person's unique vision and creative experimentation.

Her work can be found in numerous public collections such as the Palazzo Strozzi Museum in Florence, where she curated a performance exhibition in 2017 together with the young artist Reverie as a contribution to the Bill Viola exhibition.

You have collaborated with various galleries, foundations (Michelangelo Foundation), museums and auction houses. Her exhibition on alchemy curated for Cambi in 2019 is memorable.

Her work has been published in various international magazines including The New York Times Magazine, Architectural Digest, Vogue, Artribune, Wallpaper and more. In 2019 she was part of the jury of the Frame Awards in Amsterdam and curated an exhibition in Milan entitled Land, about man, nature and the “earth”.

In full 2020 covid era decides to found VGO Associates. A new open-air gallery in the south of France, based on the idea of ​​interacting in a different way with the objects and spaces that populate our daily life. With VGO Associates she is currently working on bespoke projects in a dialogue between art and architecture, actively collaborating with Iconic Design Brands, artists, designers, craftsmen and holistic practitioners who provide the foundation for her new interior designs.

 Exhibitions

• JULY 2023 MATTEO CIBIC X ALTREFORME , SHOWING AT NOMADE CIRCLE – CAPRI,IT

• JUNE 2023 SUNFLOWER – VGO Summer Residence – FIGUERES, ES

• MAY 2023 HERITAGE LEADERS MASTERMIND – INFINITY ART MUSEUM, UAE

• NOVEMBER 2022 FACOLTA’ PARANOICA – Luigi Presicce & Anna Capolupo at ARTISSIMA / THE OTHERS Show – TURIN, IT

• JULY 2022 LA TERRE ROUGE – VGO Summer Residence – MARRAKECH, MA

• JUNE 2022 EA-The Voice of Light – contemporary art exhibition at Giardino Corsi Annalena -FLORENCE, IT

• DECEMBER 2021 OUT OF DINE edition at SCACCHETTI ASSOCIATI FOUNDATION – MILAN, IT

• AUGUST 2021 VGO ASSOCIATES Temporary pop-up group show  Exhibition- SAINT TROPEZ, FR

• JUNE 2021 LA TENT NOIR BY FRANCO RAGGI – Exhibition – GRASSE, FR

• MAY 2021 POLKA PUTTANA Group ShowExhibition and Spring Residence x VGO ASSOCIATES  - GRASSE, FR

• OCTOBER 2020: ADAM PARKER SMITH FOR MOCO MUSEUM Exhibition – BARCELONA, SP

• FEBRUARY 2020 FRAME AWARDS – Jury member commission – best executional project – AMSTERDAM, NL

• JANUARY 2020: KUNAAL KYHAAN –Solo show curatorship and campaign creative director– PRIVATE KK COLLECTION PUNE, IND

• NOVEMBER 2019: Pangea, pedagogical & sustainable interior project – TANZANIA, AF

• JUNE 2019: Alchemyst, an art exhibition for Cambi Casa D’aste – MILAN,IT

• MAY 2019: MARNI Market, an interior design project at Luisaviaroma Store – FLORENCE, IT

• APRIL 2019: Land, a collectible design exhibit in collaboration with Masquespacio & Poggi Ugo – MILAN,IT

• JANUARY 2019: EDEN, A site specific installation in collaboration with Sara Ricciardi for LVR – FLORENCE, IT

• JANUARY 2019: SWIMMING POOL, A site specific installation in collaboration with Cristina Celestino at The Pool – NYC, USA

• DECEMBER 2018: Home for the Holidays, A site specific installation in collaboration with Cristina Celestino for LVR -FLORENCE,IT

• OCTOBER 2018: Elemania, A solo Show of Elena Salmistraro – MILAN,IT

• JUNE 2018: MARBLE ICEBERG, A site specific installation in collaboration with Matteo Cibic for LVR . FLORENCE,IT

• DECEMBER 2017: PRIVATE COLLECTION of Vittorio Gaddi – LUCCA,IT

• OCTOBER 2017: Divina Sproporzione, a collectible design exhibition at SecondoMe Gallery – ROME,IT

• SEPTEMBER 2017: Rino Stefano Tagliafierro, A solo Show Exhibition for Biennale dell’Antiquariato- FLORENCE, IT

• JULY 2017: Hypersensitive Renaissence, a performative act by Reverie Vezzosi for Palazzo Strozzi, Museum - FLORENCE,IT

• JANUARY 2017: Brilliant ceramics, a group exhibition in collaboration with Museo della Ceramica, NOVE - IT

• NOVEMBER 2016: LVR Terrace, an outdoor design project in collaboration with Patricia Urquiola Studio – FLORENCE,IT

• JUNE 2016: DESIGN ON WATER, A group exhibition for LVR- FLORENCE,IT

• APRIL 2016: EYES ON YOU, A solo show exhibition of Maurizio Galante- MILAN, IT