From March 25 to March 30, 2025, Massimiliano MaMo Donnari’s works are featured in several events including the School of Italy Gala, a fundraising event for which the artist donated a work that was auctioned off At the School’s headquarters there is an exhibition entitled “Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” in collaboration with the Rotary Club of New York. Finally, the calendar includes a series of events dedicated to both business and art at the G-Gallery in Soho.
These events were organized with the support of the dean of the School of Italy Michael Cascianelli and Paolo Taticchi, a professor at University College London and Imperial College London and who will soon begin a world tour to promote his new book “How to be sustainable.” The professional collaboration, as well as the friendship, between the artist and Taticchi has been going on for several years, since the latter created a research project on the sustainability of NFTs, a field in which he has been one of the leading experts for years, and wanted to create a digital art manifesto starting from a work by MaMo itself.
Together, the two identified the “Fashion Queen” artwork, which is a hybrid of Queen Elizabeth and Chiara Ferragni-so past and contemporary influencer role models, as the ideal choice. To do so, they digitized the work, transformed the writing on the T-shirt, and launched a message about sustainability by making it an NFT. Through this NFT poster they then created a campaign with the university that went around the world.
MaMo if you had to choose a few words to define yourself artistically what would you use?Definitely ironic. Fashion, because my art is very fashionable. Especially contemporary because my works are a critique or praise of the moment we live in.
As an entrepreneur, when did you start out?There I was born a child of the art, so you could say therefore always. My dad was an entrepreneur in the woodworking machinery business, and I followed in his footsteps, but doing something that resembled a sacrificial form since, as an only child, I felt I had to necessarily follow that path.
How and why did this switch happen in your professional life?So, switch yes, however, my true self has always been artistic. As a nature I am an artist, I was and still am an entrepreneur but it’s almost a forcing for me.
Has this huge step also corresponded to a change in your personal life?Absolutely. It’s about a completely different life and that’s exactly what I want. A life where I am now here in New York, last year we were in London. This art has also brought me close to special friendships like Diego Della Valle, in short, distinguished figures of our country in the world.
How much do you think being born into a family where there is strong economic wealth attached to a company often corresponds to a kind of condemnation in having to conform to a predetermined line?Unfortunately a lot, but you can find a way out, especially if you have my character and my zodiac sign, because being an Aquarius sooner or later in short I had to explore and go further to feel free.
From what do you take inspiration for your works and what is the message you want to send to your users, to your audience?Without wanting to, it all comes naturally, because my art exactly reflects my soul and my soul is ironic and positive. Therefore I look for the positive even and especially in the darkest moments. Indeed, the more difficult the moments, the more I try, even with personal irony, to downplay them. This is palpable, hearing from my clients, my friends and my collectors, my art gives a sense of cheerfulness, of positivity, and this really gives me great pleasure.
In your works you use very different materials, is there randomness or do you do specific research based on some criteria?I am a perfectionist and fussy therefore few objects are there randomly. A funny anecdote though concerns my work E.T. My very first works were born at night, because obviously the first two years when my artistic activity started I could only work at that time. When I no longer had phones, noises and the world tearing at me, I was free and could devote myself to my art. One night precisely I had to make E.T.’s eyes and I didn’t really know how to make them so I went to my son’s room, took a spinning top and split it in half and with those two convex things I created E.T.’s eyes.
To your son’s delight…There, yes there and then he was not really enthusiastic, however today he is very proud because a beautiful work came out.
Is there a work of yours that you are particularly attached to?Yes the work is the Fashion Queen, a work that was heard around the world because it was the first low energy NFT (Non Fungible Token ed.) poster. For this work we went on television, then to London and now we are right here with her at the G-Gallery in New York’s Soho.
In what years did you start being involved in art full time?Again as a creative I have always been involved in art, however let’s say MaMo the artist was born 8 years ago just in March 2017 and in 2027 I hope to publish a book.
What can you tell us about your first sold work?My first sold work is an incredible story because I was having an exhibition in a little town called Avigliano Umbro, a tiny little town, I was very down and I didn’t even want to go. Then at one point a gentleman came and asked me how much my work cost and I swear I didn’t have a quote, I didn’t know what to tell him, I never thought about it. So I threw therefore a random figure almost to push him away, in fact by then it was a very high figure. This one on the other hand was moved by a critic who later became my critic, that in fact was the village of Giulio Rapetti aka Mogol who later also became my friend.
The article NFT, Ferragni and Queen Elizabeth: MaMo’s pop universe in New York comes from TheNewyorker.
