“Come down from the pedestal”: according to Alberto Garutti, this is what the artist must do in order for art to act in the real world and be truly public. Recognizing the work of art as a place within which client and artist encounter each other – in a web of economic, social, and political relationships – Garutti brings these relationships into the creative process. The inspiration and ideas that are the genesis of each work, whether destined for an institution, an urban space, or a private collection, are not sought in the solitude of the studio, but instead are developed through encounters, conversations, and research in the field. “The work,” Garutti maintains, “is designed as a two-faced device. [...]
