In a chapter titled “Vita” from the book Il Buco: Stories and Recipes, Donna Lennard, the visionary owner and founder of the Il Buco family of restaurants and homeware artisan shops, quotes the Victorian art critic John Ruskin: “In all things that live, there are certain irregularities and deficiencies which are not only signs of life but sources of beauty.”
Stepping into Il Buco Vita in Amagansett, there is an immediate urge to slow down and take in the curated tabletop and home décor line that celebrates old-world craftsmanship, with all its beautiful imperfections. What hangs on the walls immediately transports you to the Italian countryside, thanks partly to the charming, brightly-colored oil paintings of still life art and traditional Umbrian scenes by Italian artist and co-founder, Antonello Radi.
As a lover of art and beauty in all its forms, Radi began painting and creating from a very young age in Umbria, as well as gaining a fascination with craftsmanship. “Every Saturday and Sunday, I would go to antique stores with my Mother and Father to find beautiful pieces, which inspired my passion for furnishings, design, architecture, and painting.”
With no formal training, Radi’s painting technique is spontaneously intuitive, relying solely on memories from extensive travels. “When I go to discover a new city, town, or country, I always go to the farmers markets because it is the real life of the place.” The artists’ small-scale, boldly-stroked oil paintings of vegetables, anchovies, and mollusks are wildly popular with collectors. “It’s tremendous. I mean, people love them,” says Lennard of Radi’s works hanging at Il Buco Vita’s Amagansett location, “they fly out the door here.”
A moment of repose with a colorful collection of pebbles and shells.
The artist’s tools.
Radi often sketches before painting.
Radi’s affection for the Hamptons has earned him the nickname “Hamptonello,” where he finds inspiration from collecting stones and shells on beach walks to the expansive green marshes off Gerard Drive in Springs, where Lennard resides. Radi is proficient in creating works, and he begins his paintings with a quick, somewhat rough sketch on the canvas. “The sketching is only to understand the position of the pieces that I paint,” explains the artist. Mixing colors—which can be in the well of a scallop shell—Radi works methodically and quietly, and his subjects emerge from the canvas quickly. “My paintings are fast because I prefer to see the result immediately,” he explains, “I love to start and complete.”
With Il Buco celebrating its 30th year, Radi’s ceramics and sculptures came into play with the design of a commemorative plate featuring a simple bunch of radishes and a line of colorful, handmade ceramic sardines, mussels, and clams. “These ideas are just coming out of his hands,” says Lennard, “now it’s expressed in three-dimensionality off of the canvas.”
The 25-year friendship between Antonello, Donna, and Antonello’s cousin, Lorenzo Radi, continues to guide Il Buco Vita’s success. Curating traditional craftsmanship featuring selected Italian artisans for their homeware line, the business partner trio still seeks beauty in imperfections.
“The paintings, maybe, are not so perfect,” says Radi of the energetic and sought-after works that adorn the Il Buco restaurants and shops, “I prefer this kind of painting, and it’s good to know when your art is appreciated.”
“I think Antonello is the definition of a true, natural creative,” continues Lennard, “and it’s expressed from him in a certain, untaught way that’s all his own, spontaneous, not overwrought and not perfect, Antonello’s version of life.”
