For me, luxury is increasingly connected to rarity: time, thought, craftsmanship, access and something created specifically for you. It’s not necessarily about scale or abundance. Sometimes the greatest luxury is experiencing something that cannot simply be reproduced…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
Gabriele Rizzi is an Italian artist and the founder of Gabriele Rizzi Lab, an international creative studio specialising in bespoke performance art, experiential design, and custom entertainment shows. Based on a philosophy of continuous innovation and artisan craftsmanship, his laboratory rejects standardised formats to develop original concepts tailored for elite private events, luxury hospitality, and global cultural landmarks. Gabriele manages a specialised network of designers, choreographers, and musicians to execute a limited number of high-end productions each season, with past work showcased at venues and events such as the Opera Garnier in Paris, the Hotel Martinez in Cannes, and the FIFA World Cup in Doha. Here we discuss the discipline behind the totally unique productions of Gabriele Rizzi Lab…
C&B: “Gabriele, congratulations on being named in our CITY & BEACH TOP 10 CREATIVE & PERFORMANCE ARTISTS 2026. Your projects are completely unique, unlike anything most have ever seen before. How would you define your core identity and the purpose behind your studio?”
GR: “First and foremost, I am an artist. I founded Gabriele Rizzi Lab as a place where ideas can move freely between performance, art, artistic design and experience. We work internationally, creating bespoke and original projects for high-end private celebrations, luxury hospitality and cultural contexts. What interests me most is giving form to something that did not exist before…”
By listening before I start designing, I aim to understand the people, the place, the culture , the state of mind and what sits beneath the obvious aesthetic references. The goal is not to illustrate someone’s personality literally, but to create something that feels very connected to them while still carrying our own artistic language…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
C&B: “You often use the phrase ‘Haute Creativity’ to describe your work; what does that philosophy actually look like in practice?”
GR: “It’s our way of approaching creation: artistic research, craftsmanship, experimentation and an uncompromising pursuit of visual seductive beauty. ‘Haute’ is not about excess; it’s about care, depth and the level of attention given to an idea until it becomes something singular…”
Visual impact can capture attention, but attention is not the same as connection. I often introduce something familiar inside an unexpected world. That familiarity becomes an anchor. Sensory engagement and interaction can then make the experience personal. It’s not what you saw that stays, but what it set in motion within you…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
C&B: “Where does the spark for an entirely new concept typically come from?”
GR: “Often something very small – by intuition, an image, a material, a movement, something observed in nature or an unexpected encounter. My process is not linear; I connect fragments that may initially have nothing to do with one another until they begin to reveal a world of their own…”
Most of our work is behind the scenes: Research, development, tests, failures, technical solutions, rehearsals, craftsmanship and an extraordinary number of details disappear behind the final result. A moment may last only seconds, but what makes it possible can take months, and the thinking behind it carries more than twenty years of accumulated experience…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
C&B: “When a client retains your company for an event, what are they genuinely investing in?”
GR: “Not simply a performance, show or art installation. They are commissioning a vision and the process required to make it real. Very often, what we are creating has never existed before, so there is no finished reference to show. That requires something fundamental between artist and client: Trust…”
Artistic direction is also the ability to remove aspects. Too many ideas, even beautiful ones, can weaken the central vision. I’m interested in finding what is essential and protecting it. Complexity can exist behind the work, but what reaches the audience should feel clear and inevitable…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
C&B: “When an idea succeeds, the temptation is to replicate it. Why do you resist that?”
GR: “Because repetition can easily become comfort. More than twenty years ago, I challenged myself to create one idea every day. Over time, that challenge became discipline, and discipline became my form of freedom. Our archive is knowledge, not a catalogue of solutions. Every commission should take us somewhere new…”
Something monumental can disappear from memory quickly, while a precise and unexpected experience can remain for years. I’m interested in that residual effect: what continues to live within someone after the visible experience has ended…”
Gabriele Rizzi, Founder, Gabriele Rizzi Lab
C&B: “Where’s your artistic lens shifting next, and what’s currently consuming your thoughts for next year?”
GR: “I’m thinking about how creativity can move beyond the boundaries of a project and become part of how we live. I’m increasingly drawn to the relationship between nature, human potential and creative research. It’s still an open territory for me, and I prefer to explore it before defining it. We’ll probably have more to talk about in the coming years…”
CONTACT: http://www.gabrielerizzilab.com
