There is Art in the engineering of the Canavese area1.
Sertec tells about shemp sheets. Iconic designs were reinterpreted on canvas and km 0 colours by a painter who is from Settimo Rottaro (Turin).
What do old hemp sheets have to do with one of taly’s longest-running multidisciplinary engineering firms? What is the connection between the rigor of a technical drawing and the colours derived from the materials found in Canavese?
The connection exists, and at present it can be found hanging at the entrance to the brightly-lit headquarters of Sertec Engineering, where the company together with Maria Giachetti, a cultural heritage restorer and painter from Settimo Rottaro, led to a good end the project known as SERTEC FOR ART. “Inside the factory there is not only technics, but also culture and spirit of innovation”: the statement of Adriano Olivetti guided Sertec in this enterprise.
The result of this project lies in the four works created in linen oil on hemp in exhibition in the large open space overlooking Mombarone in which there are artistic and technical drawing reinterpretations and iconic designs developed over time by Sertec: “La Famiglia”( “The Family”) inspired by the court of Ivrea, “Sertec Libano”( “Sertec Lebanon”) inspired by the ideas and architecture contest for the tourist complex at Kaslik in Lebanon, “Le tre Mantidi”( “The three Mantises”) the artist’s interpretation of Sertec Lebanon project and “Sertec Harrisburg” for the architectural design of the Harrisburg establishment.
In May 2022 with an on-site event, Sertec officially presented the gallery hoping for the birth of new ideas for other cultural initiatives that could be shared with mayors and local realities, including production realities. “We started with two goals. On the one hand, we wanted to dispel the cliché of engineering thinking only about numbers, being convinced of the fact that there is a red thread between engineering and art. On the other hand, having had so much from the territory and having so much satisfaction day after day from that territory, we wanted to express this link between two universes that are only apparently distant, using the typical language of the ‘Canavese’. The technique of Maria Giachetti in this sense is perfect, as asserted by Lorenzo Vignono, the promoter of the project, partner Project Manager of the technical area of Sertec.
1 Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of North-West Italy which lies today within the Metropolitan City of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.