Ornaghi & Prestinari are among the most prominent representatives of a young generation of Italian artists. They create sculptures, paintings and installations whose works play on the coexistence between parts. Ornaghi & Prestinari approach involves a very practical experimentation with materials. For them, the work is born in the material and is not separable from it. This is the result of a sensibility to the material and its many possibilities, achieved through both ancient and contemporary techniques.
Valentina Ornaghi and Claudio Prestinari have both studied at Politecnico di Milano, and afterwards moved to Venice to specialize in Architecture and Industrial Design, respectively. They work together as a duo since 2009. Their work has been exhibited in international institutions. Between their solo exhibitions as a duo we can highlight: Blursday, Galleria Continua, Paris, 2025; Sbilenco, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT, 2023; Toccante, Galleria Continua, Roma, 2021; Tre Vani (curated by Jessica Bianchera), Spazio Cordis, Verona, 2020; Affiorare (curated by Matilde Galletti), Ex-chiesa di Ognissanti, Fermo, IT, 2019; Keeping Things Whole, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT, 2018; Early Autumn, Galleria Continua, Les Moulins, FR, 2018; Grigio Lieve (curated by Roberto Pinto), Casa Morandi, Bologna, 2017; Ornaghi&Prestinari, Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche (MIC), Faenza, IT, 2017; Stille (curated by Ilaria Mariotti), Villa Pacchiani, Santa Croce sull’Arno, IT, 2017; Ornaghi & Prestinari (curated by Vittorio Calabrese), Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, New York University, in collaboration with Magazzino Italian Art, New York, 2016; Artista X Artista (curated by Estudio Carlos Garaicoa), Open Studio, La Habana, CU, 2016; Familiare, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, IT, 2014.
Ornaghi & Prestinani’s work is also held in public collections such as: Museum Voorlinden - Caldic Collection, Wassenaar, NL; Magazzino Italian Art - Olnick Spanu Collection, New York; Cleveland Clinic Art Collection, Cleveland; GAMeC - Galleria d’arte moderna e contemporanea, Bergamo, IT; MIC Museo Intenazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, IT; Museo Carlo Zauli, Faenza, IT. Their work was also awarded with Percent for Art program, by the Deparment of Cultural Affair in NY, 2022; the Honorable Mention by the Premio Santa Croce Grafica, Villa Pacchiani, IT, 2021; Club GAMeC Prize, Bergamo, IT, 2018; Under35 Prize SIAE/Sillumina, MIC Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, IT, 2017; Premio Regione Veneto, 96ma collettiva Giovani Artisti, Fondazione Bevillacqua La Masa, Venice, 2012; the Honorable Mention by the A box of dreams, Fondazione Claudio Buziol, Venice, IT, 2009.
