Journalist Luca Mottaran turns custom poetry into plexiglass wall art

Luca Mottaran, a journalist and poet from Novara based in Milan, has developed a business around custom poetry printed on plexiglass or metal sheets. The idea originated from a dinner party game where he wrote a poem based on a friend's answers. In 2009, two architects opening a gallery in Torino discovered his poems and proposed printing six of them on plexiglass for an exhibition. Later, a friend from that dinner commissioned a poem for his wife, combining the two chance experiences into a commercial project. Mottaran now writes commissioned poems for private clients and brands, following a process that includes a series of 50 questions to understand the recipient and message. He also works with companies like Heineken, which commissioned a poem for the 50th anniversary of its Sardinian beer Ichnusa and the launch of a new unfiltered beer. The poem was featured in a mural by Sardinian artist Pina Monne at the Heineken plant in Sesto San Giovanni (MI) and printed in a special edition box set for top clients.