Graziella Guidotti
Graziella Guidotti, born in Florence in 1936, is a prominent historian specialized in Italian textile culture. Her research focused on the recovery and categorization of popular Italian fabrics and textile products, and she is a leading expert on the history, techniques and cultural value of textiles.
Thanks to her, a part of Italy’s textile art heritage, a multi-faceted and rich field, has been recovered. Her professional training was always aimed at this research. In 1953 she graduated in Pictorial Arts at Siena’s Public Art School, and in 1955 in Textile Arts at Florence’s Public Art School. From 1978 to 1993 she attended textile specialization programmes in Vicenza, taught by Luciana Gianello at Textilia, and in Tarcento-Udine, at the Association Arti Tessili. In 1989 in Aubusson, France, she specialized in designing and processing low warp tapestries. She constantly worked in her studio in Florence, going from teaching to experimenting with textile prototypes, to painting on silk and wool.
Thanks to her knowledge and historical research, concerning Italian textile heritage and the new frontiers of textile evolution, she became a leading consultant for exhibitions, conferences and seminars of international scope. Graziella explains: “the excitement and admiration for historical artworks increasingly lead to personal interpretations, thanks to the expressiveness of the art of weaving, stimulating a deeper understanding of the textile knowledge of a given time. The knowledge of textiles and weaving techniques is a source of countless interpretations and creative elaborations, both from the artistic and artisanal point of view, and also contributes to our understanding of the material culture and heritage of those who came before us, along with their aesthetic, technical and commercial achievements.”