My Story
I spent more than twelve years living London's frenetic pace, working as an artist, a tutor, and countless other jobs. Perhaps it was the intensity of that life that drew me towards craftsmanship and the desire to slow down. Outside of work, I spent most of my time painting and making ceramics.
Then I discovered bread through my husband, Simone Conti, a master baker with an extraordinary understanding of fermentation, and it changed the course of my life. I no longer wanted to represent craftsmanship in my paintings—I felt the need to become a craftsperson myself.
Bread is both humble and deeply complex, qualities I felt were often missing from the art world at the time. In 2016, we opened a bakery in Castel Cerreto, a rural village between Milan and Bergamo. Alongside the bakery, we founded Spazio Tilde, an interdisciplinary space where bread-making, artist residencies, and exhibitions coexist.
Unexpectedly, this new path brought me back to painting. I returned to the studio with renewed conviction and excitement. In a way, my journey has come full circle: from artist to artisan, and back to artist again.
Marisol Malatesta
Born in Ica, Perú
lives and works in Treviglio (Bergamo, Italy). She studied Fine Arts at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and later moved to London, where she completed a postgraduate degree and a master’s degree at the Byam Shaw School of Art at Central Saint Martins. She has participated in international exhibitions such as the Mercosur Biennial in Brazil, the Textile Museum, Drawing Room, and the Embassy of Peru in London. In her native country she has presented solo and group exhibitions at Sala Miró Quesada Garland, Centro Cultural San Marcos, Fundación Telefónica, Galería Fórum, among others. She taught at the Byam Shaw School of Art and Bournemouth University for more than six years before relocating to Italy in 2016.
Her bakery and art project, Tilde, was included in the Gambero Rosso guide, which recognized it among the best bakeries in Italy. In 2020 she was selected by Corriere della Sera as one of the 20 most influential women in Italian gastronomy, highlighted for her sustainable use of local grains in breadmaking as well as for her cultural and curatorial interventions within the bakery itself. Her most recent exhibition is Screaming Pots, presented at the Salone del Mobile 2026 at Locanda Mesa, Milan.
