Francesco Vezzoli has been creating provocative, genre-defying art for over thirty years, working across film, video, embroidery, sculpture, and photography. His work often explores themes of celebrity, glamour, and spectacle. His new book, Francesco Vezzoli: Diva (published by Skira), engages with iconic figures from pop culture, religion, and the golden ages of Italian and Hollywood cinema. Vezzoli embellishes portraits of stars like Maria Callas, Greta Garbo, Bianca Jagger, and Veruschka with embroidered tears, glittered eyebrows, and bloody noses.
We spoke with the artist—who called from his bedroom in Milan after attending a William Forsythe ballet at La Scala (“spiritual delight,” he raved)—to learn more about his new book and his continually surprising career.
Vogue: Your new book includes an introductory essay by Shai Batel that places you in an artistic lineage with figures like Duchamp and Richard Prince. Do you agree with that, or would you position yourself differently?
Francesco Vezzoli: I have to admit, when I was very young, I bought a lot of those early Richard Prince books—I was a big fan. But I would never place myself in the company of such geniuses; it’s dangerous—you might disappoint! I will say that whatever impression my work gives, it came from a sense of urgency. When I began featuring actresses in my video art and embroidering tears on their faces, it felt like a strong necessity. I wanted to express a certain sensibility that I felt was missing. I believed I had to create these works because art history, especially Italian art history, lacked representation for the kind of sensibility and iconography I was exploring.
It was really a dual path: on one hand, my type of sensibility—whether you call it gay, queer, or whatever—wasn’t represented. But I also felt that emotions had been somewhat suppressed back in the ’80s and ’90s, for probably too long. And I’m a big fan of melodrama.
Vogue: At the risk of stating the obvious: Why tears? Why are they crying? We also see other elements, like bloody noses and bruises. But tears are a major motif. Is it about melodrama, or is there something more?
Francesco Vezzoli: On the surface, yes, it’s about representing emotions. But I’m also creating a little Lucio Fontana-like cut or slash in each diva’s eye, and from that slash comes an outpouring of emotions that you wouldn’t expect from the glamorous surface. That’s my idea—a gesture that reveals the truth behind the screen. Whether that truth is about your sexual orientation or your emotions can be analyzed and interpreted, but it’s certainly about the truth behind the façade. It’s always about adding a layer of truth. Obviously, tears aren’t always the truth, but it’s like saying, “Be careful what you wish for—not all your dreams, when they come true, bring everything you expected.”
It’s very simple, but that’s what inspired me. At the time, I was reading a lot of biographies of movie stars and directors, and I did extensive gender studies at Central Saint Martins in the early ’90s. So there was this need to take that heritage and add a little extra glitter and emotion to the official image.
Vogue: I’ll confess that I’ve always thought of you as very Italian—I didn’t know you studied at Saint Martins!
Francesco Vezzoli: To be completely honest—I don’t…I usually say the transition from the Italian provinces to Central Saint Martins in London was incredibly stimulating, but rough. London itself was thrilling, but the city was easier to navigate than the school. I was entering a completely different educational system, and doing these needlework pieces allowed me to spend long stretches of time alone.
I think the first one was a portrait of Jeff Stryker without tears, but then I started doing needleworks of the prostitutes’ cards you’d find in phone booths—back before Grindr, Tinder, or any social media existed for arranging encounters. I was appropriating a visual vocabulary considered inherently feminine, but using it for a kind of pseudo-sexual discourse. That inevitably evolved into something more biographical and emotional.
But what initially attracted you to Saint Martins, or to London?
I just wanted to escape my provincial city—where, by the way, I’m doing a big exhibition when your article comes out, so I shouldn’t speak too badly about my hometown.
Which is where?
It’s in the north, between Milan and Venice. It’s called Brescia. It’s a lovely city full of great museums and architecture, with a quality of life that, after spending years around the world, I sometimes miss. But I wanted to escape that universe; I wanted to go to London clubs, see a Leigh Bowery performance, a Michael Clark ballet. I wanted all that extra something—and I found it, and I found myself. I just came back from London, and whatever happens, that’s the place that holds my most personal memories from my first big life change. You can’t erase that. I miss that clubbing scene—I was a club kid, but it wasn’t just about going to gay clubs. It was about being part of a culture with its own codes, separate from financial ones. You didn’t have to be rich to be a club kid. That later evolved into a more luxury-oriented culture, but back then, the door policy didn’t depend on how expensive your clothes were.
I have a simple question about your book: Why are all the movie stills and homages to fashion photographers like Francesco Scavullo, or portraits of figures like Marisa Berenson, from a bygone era? They range from Cary Grant to Marlene Dietrich up through the ’80s. Is it because these earlier eras feel one step removed, so they more easily convey a preserved idea of glamour that you can then puncture and play with?
Absolutely, yes. Also, I was in London right when the concept of glamour was shifting. Until the ’80s, glamour was tied to a set of standard Western values, whether in Paris, London, or New York. But in the ’90s, the codes began to change, making all that iconography seem frozen in a past of untouchable beauty. I needed that kind of pristine surface to slash into. If I had slashed one of Corinne Day’s beautiful covers of Kate Moss, for instance—those images didn’t need slashing. It never occurred to me.
Your book also includes an interview you did with Sophia Loren, and there’s this amazing quote of hers you ask about. She once said, “If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful,” which is just incredible. How did this conversation with her come about?
You have to blame Condé Nast [laughs]. It was for an embroidered cover I did for Italian Vanity Fair, and she agreed to do an interview. I think she’s a great actress because she’s had a dramatically difficult life. She was born into real poverty and had to struggle immensely.She became who she is today, and I found that sentence, while very poetic, to mean that unless you’ve faced real hardship, you can’t truly succeed in acting or in telling the truth.
Now, I’d like to bring up one of your own quotes—from a video interview you did. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s recent or just somewhat recent.
Just say I’m ageless, so it could have been twenty years ago or two.
Of course. But you said, “I’m a sweet vampire,” and I didn’t understand the context.
Yes. That goes back to a time when I was making a lot of videos with movie stars. People often asked me, “How did you convince Sharon Stone, Helen Mirren, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett—”
And Courtney Love, Dianne Wiest, Lady Gaga, Michelle Williams—
Exactly. I would explain that I always approached these heroes of mine with a very specific project tailored to them. There was nothing random about it. So, yes, I was a vampire—though today I’d say I was an honest vampire, because I never wanted to intrude on their private lives. I wanted them for what they represented. My goal was to bring celebrity culture into artistic discourse, not just through images, as many artists had done before, but through the actual physical performances of these seemingly unreachable icons.
Many people assumed there was something manipulative about it, especially since I was just a kid. Once, I had dinner with a very prominent American artist who said, “Oh, but everyone knows your parents are very powerful in Hollywood.” I just laughed and replied, “My father is a lawyer in Brescia—he couldn’t meet Sophia Loren even if he tried.” That wasn’t my background. So I did have to be a bit of a vampire, asking these people to give me a share of their celebrity essence, but I immediately poured that into the ink that fuels my work.
This new Diva book also includes a conversation between you and Hans Ulrich Obrist, which covers many fascinating topics. But of course, you know what I’m going to ask about: the lunch you had with your old friend Herbert Muschamp, the architecture critic for the New York Times (and before that, Vogue), along with Zaha Hadid and… Donald Trump. I get the sense this is a long story, but can you give us an idea of what that lunch was like? It seems there was a thought that Zaha Hadid might design a building for Donald Trump?
Maybe Herbert dreamed of, how should I say, redeeming Mr. Trump through Zaha’s influence. I won’t delve into politics, because I think anyone can. Zaha was one of the most penetrating people you could ever meet—you couldn’t escape her gaze or the strength of her perspective. She carved her way into the male-dominated world of power through immense vision, excellence, and strength. I think Mr. Trump recognized that this woman, from a completely different background, possessed that kind of power. But he literally didn’t listen to a single word Zaha—the greatest living female architect at the time, and probably still—had to say. I was shocked. Everything she said just bounced right off him.
What are you working on now?
I’m planning a major exhibition in Alba, the truffle city in the north near Turin, focused on Roberto Longhi. He was a brilliant writer and the most important postwar art historian in Italy. He rediscovered Caravaggio—who was largely forgotten until after World War II—and there’s never been an exhibition about Longhi before. Then, there will be the most significant exhibition on de Chirico and the metaphysical painters at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, opening in time for the Olympics. I have some pieces in that show, and I’ll be designing the final section, so I’ll be both curator and artist within the same framework, and I’mI’m very happy about that. I’m also working on something important with Dasha Zhukova—we’re presenting a special project in Miami.
What kind of special project? Can you say?
Yes. Vogue recently ran an article about her real estate projects—she’s constructing buildings all around America and involves artists to create artworks for them. This is the first step: we took a very famous piece of design and added something that completely turns its meaning upside-down. She will place it in her buildings, and we will present it at Design Miami.
But the earlier project at the Palazzo Reale—if I’m not mistaken, de Chirico is a hero of yours, yes?
Yes. I’m super happy that this will be the biggest show ever on metaphysical painters. It’s going to the most important public museum in Milan and then to the National Gallery in Rome. It’s super exciting—I always have what we’d call the “syndrome of the actress without a screenplay on her table,” but luckily, until 2027, I have two great new movies to make.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
Francesco Vezzoli: Diva
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Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Francesco Vezzoli based on the topics you provided
About Francesco Vezzoli His Work
Q Who is Francesco Vezzoli
A He is a contemporary Italian artist known for his provocative work that blends film embroidery sculpture and performance often focusing on fame celebrity culture and classical art
Q What is the main theme of his art
A His work critically explores the cult of celebrity the construction of fame and the relationship between modern pop culture and historical often classical imagery
Q What does Diva refer to
A Diva is the title of his latest book Its a conceptual project that examines the idea of the diva throughout history and in contemporary society using his own work and collaborations as a lens
Collaborations with Icons
Q Is it true he worked with Sophia Loren What did they do
A Yes He created a short film titled The End in 2010 where Sophia Loren dramatically recites the final lines from Pier Paolo Pasolinis film Theorem Its a powerful piece about endings and legacy
Q How did he collaborate with Lady Gaga
A Vezzoli directed Lady Gaga in a short silent promotional video for his 2010 MOCA Los Angeles gala The film was a homage to classic Hollywood and silent cinema featuring Gaga in a highly stylized dramatic performance
Q Why does he collaborate with such huge stars
A He uses their immense cultural power as a readymade material By placing them in artistic often historical contexts he asks us to think about how we worship figures today versus in the past and what makes a true icon
The Infamous Lunch with Donald Trump
Q Did Francesco Vezzoli really have lunch with Donald Trump
A Yes in 2007 It was a staged photoshoot and performance for Vanity Fair Vezzoli invited Trump to lunch at the Trump Grill to discuss a fictional extravagant art commissiona goldembroidered portrait of Trumps mother
Q What was the point of that lunch Was it serious