Patricia Urquiola
Istituto Caselli e Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte

Patricia Urquiola studied architecture and design at the Technical University of Madrid and Milan Polytechnic, where she graduated under the supervision of Achille Castiglioni. She founded her studio in 2001, specialising in the fields of industrial product design, architecture (hospitality, retail, residential, exhibitions and installations), artistic direction and strategic consultancy. Patricia Urquiola has been art director of Cassina since 2015 and works with many of the more important international design companies. Her creations are on display in numerous museums of art and design around the world, including the MoMA in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Museo della Triennale in Milan, the Vitra Design Museum in Basel, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Stedelijk in Amsterdam and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She sits on the advisory boards of Milan Polytechnic and the Museo del Triennale in Milan. She teaches at many important universities and is a frequent guest at major international cultural events. In Spain she has been awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts and the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

The Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte and the Istituto a Indirizzo Raro Caselli are still located in the Parco di Capodimonte (Naples). The latter was founded with the aim not only of perpetuating the ancient craft of porcelain, but also of experimenting with and introducing innovations in the sector. The school has the right to use the trademark of the historic factory, the only manufacturer to boast the fleur-de-lis of the House of Bourbon, and also hosts an educational museum of porcelain, where historic artefacts and new lines of production created in collaboration with well-known designers and contemporary artists are on display and for sale. There are also an archive of historic moulds, kilns and machines used in the 18th century and educational workshops. In 2017, the school obtained the recognition of indirizzo raro or ‘rare vocation’ on the part of the Ministry of Education.