Matteo Guarnaccia

Matteo Guarnaccia (Milano 1954-2022) artist and costume historian, was a leading figure in contemporary visionary culture.

Already in the 1970s, he was a protagonist of the European countercultural scene with his psychedelic magazine, ‘Insekten Sekte’. He is active in the field of art, with international exhibitions and installations: from the Milan Triennale to the Hall of Flowers in San Francisco, from the Venice Biennale to the Pecci Museum in Prato, from the Mazzotta and Mudima Foundation in Milan to the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation in Turin. He has exhibited his works in Italy, Holland, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Switzerland. His works appear in important international magazines and catalogues, including Zoom (France) Underground Culture from all Parts of the World Underground Culture from all Parts of the World (Japan): he is one of the few Italian artists featured in Grushkin & King’s prestigious Art of Modern Rock in 2004.

He has been involved in fashion with various projects, working with Vivienne Westwood (for whom he designed a Capsule Collection), Biba (London), Corso Como 10, Malo, Stephan Marais (Paris). In the design field he has worked alongside Bruno Munari, Atelier Mendini, Italo Rota & Partners, Alessandro Guerriero, Piero Fornasetti. He has written and designed more than sixty ‘essays’ dedicated to the avant-gardes and subcultures of the 20th century, published by various publishers, including Rizzoli, Phaidon, Hoepli, Mondadori, 24 ORE Cultura, as well as collaborating with various newspapers. With ShaKe he published Ribelli con stile (2009), Psichedelica (2010), Underground italiana (2011), Guernica Blues. Controstoria delle arti dal 1945 a oggi  (2012), Sciamani (2016), Tutto ciò di cui hai bisogno è amore (2017), as well as beautifully illustrating Terence McKenna’s classic travelogue Vere allucinazioni (new ed. 2022).