LEME – LIDIA MENEGHINI. BETWEEN DESIGN AND NATURE
| di Elena Redaelli |
Lidia Meneghini, aka LEME, is a textile artist who blends the languages of sculpture, fashion design, and collage to create unique works. After seven years as an assistant in a sculpture workshop, she graduated in 2012 in Arts and Entertainment from IUAV at the University of Venice. That same year, she received a scholarship for the master’s program in “Bag Design and Product Development” at IUAV in collaboration with Bottega Veneta.
In 2016, she moved to Valencia, Spain, where she worked in the costume atelier of the Palau de les Arts opera house. In 2024, she became a Project Coordinator at Capsule Gallery in Venice. She is an active member of the Italian Collagists Collective (ICC), the first Italian collective dedicated to collage as an artistic medium, and she develops environmental art projects.
Her experience in theatre, international collaborations, and extensive cross-disciplinary skills contribute to creating elegant and ironic works where cutting-edge craft and sensitivity merge. The artist states:
“My speciality is giving shape to ideas, creating works that can be touched and seen. My creative process is based on continuous research focusing on the tactile sensations of materials, whether fabric, leather, wood, or stone.”
Her most recent works, created during artistic residencies in Italy, reflect and intensely express the tactile aspect. Among these stands out AMANTES (136 x 200 cm), made as part of the TESSERE L’ARTE project by Ottovaolantesulcis, which explores the textile traditions of Sant’Antioco island. The piece, crafted by knotting recycled towels in shades of white and beige, forms an intertwined surface mounted on a wooden frame, reminding of a bed.
“In a bed, we are born; in a bed, we die. The body disappears, but the fabric holds its memory,” explains the artist. The work evokes the intimacy of intertwined bodies and emotional passion, one that leaves a tangible imprint on the surrounding materials.
In 2021, Lidia participated in the INSITU FESTIVAL, Sicily, addressing the environmental issue of waste left along the Italian shoreline. The installation Nemoria, created with discarded plastic materials from greenhouses in Marina di Acate, repurposes these waste materials; their temporal permanence and transformations become a metaphor for what happens with collective memory.
“My works go beyond common aesthetic values, drawing inspiration from natural elements. By maintaining a dialogue between the material and its context of origin, I aim to make people reflect on our environment. Returning a transformed material to nature through a sculptural intervention adds conceptual value, sparking reflection on where we are and what we do. I use weaving techniques as a metaphor for interacting phenomena to tell the story of a place and highlight environmental changes. Each work is a symbol born from synthesizing natural elements and their social significance.”
Entramado is an installation created in 2021 during the Enclave LandArt artistic residency in Vall de Gallinera, Spain. The work, consisting of diffused interventions along an exhibition path that crosses a natural landscape, invites contemplation by using locally sourced materials, such as stones and branches, to create visual and tactile dialogues with the environment.
“The goal is to create a suspended space that allows visitors to stop and reflect on the beauty of the surroundings.”
Research on natural materials is long rooted in Meneghini’s work. She has previously addressed sustainability themes in her design projects. An example of her versatility is a capsule collection of bags that merges rigid materials like wood with softer ones like leather, blending their physical characteristics.
“The appearance of an object is perceived through the senses. This is why touch is so important, and using two different materials, leather and wood, enhances this form of perception.” According to Meneghini, the bag object thus acquires emotional aspects through sensory exploration. Weaving is the foundation of these sculptural bags, which thrives between wearable objects and functional works of art.
She collaborated with the Milanese studio CTRLZAK and developed Flagmented, a project combining traditional European and Chinese fabrics into a single “flag,” symbolising cultural dialogue and cross-pollination. Technically, this product’s conceptual operation is surfacing by combining classic European embroidery and Toile de Jouy with traditional Chinese fabrics, forming unique pieces that literally sew different realities together.
Lidia Meneghini continues to innovate in the art field, and we eagerly await her next creations. In the meantime, follow her on her website and social media channels.
IG: @lemestyle
Website: https://lemestyle.com/
USEFUL LINKS:
http://www.ctrlzak.com/#home
https://italiancollagistscollective.com
