Venezuelan-born, New York-based designer and architect Rodolfo Agrella, embodies the spirit of a true contemporary creative, with a nod to his heritage, a sensibility to European craft tradition and understanding of the American market.
Agrella studied Architecture at Central University of Venezuela in Caracas and at the Politecnico of Milan. He participated in Salone Satellite in 2011 and 2012 and subsequently won the German Design Award in 2015 for ‘The Shadow Collection’, a white bowl and servers, produced by Koziol. Agrella started his own design studio RADS in 2015 and became creative director for ICFF New York in 2019. He has designed for Absolut Vodka, furniture brands Heller and Nii, and created the visual identity for the canonisation of Venezuela's first saint, Madre Carmen in 2025.
He’s now charged with the artistic direction of Potocco: 'we were looking for someone who could interpret the company's identity in all its complexity,’ says Alice Potocco, third generation of the Italian furniture company founded in Udine, Italy, in 1919. Their first collaboration on the visual identity and communication ‘is bold and contemporary and at the same time highlights our heritage,’ says Alice.
We speak to Agrella to explore how he honed his practice to developed his wide creative range.
Rodolfo Agrella: interview
Rodolfo Agrella at Potocco's HQ,
Wallpaper*: You studied architecture and have since worked on a variety of projects. How did this come about?
Rodolfo Agrella: The Central University of Venezuela and the Politecnico were far more aligned than I imagined. Both taught me that architecture is a toolkit, not a discipline with fixed borders. The geometry, materiality, tension between negative space and volume – those strategies are applicable whether you're drawing a floor plan, designing a poster, or cutting a suit pattern.
Connexa Table for Nii
W*: Is your project to refresh the visual identity of Venezuela’s first ever saint Madre Carmen for her canonization at the Vatican connected to this?
RA: Yes, this is why I was able to capture the essence of a woman who was incredibly impactful. People who knew her wanted her to be remembered the way that she actually was.
Visual identity for the canonisation of Madre Carmen
W*: You’ve lived in different cities such as Berlin, Milan and New York, does that impact the way you view things?
RA: Absolutely. As an outsider, you start to see things from a completely different perspective. I am never fully local anywhere, so I had to learn to observe, to listen, to read a room. That trained me to understand different cultures without belonging to any single one, which is core to what I do. I understand Italian culture and the European way of thinking and operating. I also understand the American market in its entirety, both the United States and Latin America. That's a very specific profile, and it's exactly what Potocco was looking for.
As an outsider, you start to see things from a completely different perspective. I am never fully local anywhere, so I had to learn to observe, to listen, to read a room
Rodolfo Agrella
W*: How did you meet Potocco?
RA: I met Marianna Potocco almost five years ago through a mutual friend in Chicago, during NeoCon. She was so warm and easy to talk to. Each year during Salone it became a ritual to go and have coffee at Marianna's booth and we gradually got to know each other. Last year they reached out because they were looking for an Art Director with a very specific profile – someone who understood Italian craft culture deeply but also knew the American and Latin American markets. That described exactly what I do.
Visual identity for Potocco, with Stadium chair by Favaretto & Partners
W*: Before saying yes, you went to their base in Udine. Why was that so important to you?
RA: I need to know the people, understand the culture inside a company, especially a family-owned business that has been in the market for over a hundred years. So I went there and met everyone: the creative team, the marketing team, the sales team, and the factory workers. Speaking to the employees really matter especially a factory worker who has been with the same company for thirty years, and there are many of them at Potocco. It tells you everything about how a company is managed and what it values. I was genuinely excited by that.
Spatial design for ICFF
W*: Marianna and her sister Alice are now taking over leadership of the company. Does it feel significant to be brought in at this particular moment?
RA: Very much so. They are passing the torch from one generation to the next, and Marianna and Alice are now steering the whole process – the company, the creative direction, the structure. I felt heard during every conversation. They were open to change. And the first gesture of that new chapter, I'd say, was hiring me. That carries a lot of meaning.