From the Milanese elegance of the late and great Cini Boeri and her pioneering designs for Arflex; a homage to the revolutionary Alessandro Mendini and his work as an architect, designer, artist, and theorist; the Radical Design Pavilion's focus on Memphis and Ettore Sottsass; and the Panton Lounge's collaboration with the estate of Danish architect and designer Verner Panton, creating a new sound and space immersion; the first of our three part series, guest edited by Yellowtrace's Dana Tomić Hughes, takes a deep-dive into the value and meaning of provenance at Milan Design Week.
Verner Panton Lounge at 10 Corso Como
Part of Capsule Plaza’s show at 10 Corso Como, the Panton Lounge was a thrilling step back in time. Produced in collaboration with design companies proudly carrying on Panton’s legacy as official licensees, such as Vitra, this extraordinary collaboration with the estate of Danish architect and designer Verner Panton (1926–1998) was sheer visual ecstasy. Taking cues from some of Panton’s most visionary interiors, the lounge doubled as a sound experience and social space – an approach rooting back to Panton’s preference for immersive environments that connect with people on an emotional level.
A big yes from me.
Rui Wu, T-Space | Courtesy of Capsule Plaza
Rui Wu, T-Space | Courtesy of Capsule Plaza
Rui Wu, T-Space | Courtesy of Capsule Plaza
Rui Wu, T-Space | Courtesy of Capsule Plaza
Italian Radical Design at Salone
The interdisciplinary studio (AB)NORMAL, run by architects Mattia Inselvini, Davide Masserini, and Luigi Savio, designed the Italian Radical Design's pavilion at the furniture fair. A generous central staircase divided the space into different areas for the three brands represented: Gufram, Memphis, and Meritalia.
The space dedicated to Memphis was lined with the ‘Bacterio’ pattern by Ettore Sottsass, celebrating the brand's concept of ‘total living’, totemic objects and signature bright colours. The diagonal mirrored-covered wall recalled the mirror boxes commonly found in multiple examples of Italian radical architecture, offering an immersion in the avant-garde artistic expression of the brands that have shaped the history of design.
© Tiziano Ercoli & Riccardo Giancola
© Tiziano Ercoli & Riccardo Giancola
© Tiziano Ercoli & Riccardo Giancola
© Tiziano Ercoli & Riccardo Giancola
© Tiziano Ercoli & Riccardo Giancola
Gaetano Pesce ‘Nice to See You’
Just days after his passing on April 3rd, at the age of 84, celebrated Italian architect, artist and designer Gaetano Pesce’s exhibition ‘Nice to See You’ opened at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana. The free public show paid tribute to the design maestro, reflecting on his many contributions to the world of creativity, offering visitors an opportunity to say their goodbyes. Nice to See You featured several previously unreleased works, including pieces created in his last year, with multiple examples of Pesce’s signature wit and humour evident via objects with double meaning, encouraging closer inspection. Vale, maestro.
Photo by Olga Antipina | Gaetano Pesce, 2019
Photo by Nick Hughes, Yellowtrace
Photo by Nick Hughes, Yellowtrace
Photo by Lorenzo Bacci
Photo by Lorenzo Bacci
Cini Boeri at Bibiloteca del Parco
& Loro Piana Interiors
A paragon of Milanese elegance, Cini Boeri (1924-2020) was one of my all-time favourite designers and a personal hero, not only because she accomplished a great deal in an industry that has, in a time and place, been heavily dominated by men – she was also a mother of three sons. Boeri kept a low profile, but her work was far-reaching and highly respected in the design circles, so it was beautiful to see her creative output celebrated this year via two significant exhibitions on what would've been her 100th birthday.
One of the exhibitions took place inside the Parco Sempione Library, designed in 1954 by Ico Parisi and Silvio Longhi for the 10th Triennale International Exhibition. Curated by Cristina Moro, the exhibition offered a deeper insight into Boeri’s world via design projects and material held in the Archivio Cini Boeri, demonstrating her constant search for fresh functional forms and projects that were always sensitive to the needs of the individual.
Photo by Gianluca Di Ioia, © Triennale Milano
Photo by Gianluca Di Ioia, © Triennale Milano
Photo by Gianluca Di Ioia, © Triennale Milano
Photo by Gianluca Di Ioia, © Triennale Milano
Courtesy Archivio Cini Boeri
At Loro Piana's Milanese headquarters in Brera, Loro Piana Interiors also paid tribute to Boeri's beloved designs by partnering with Archivio Cini Boeri and Arflex. The exhibition placed a contemporary twist on iconic furniture dressed in Loro Piana's most luxurious fabrics. The Botolo chairs were covered in Cashfur, a remarkably soft cashmere-silk blend. The Pecorelle sofas and armchairs were upholstered in lustrous Pecora Nera sourced from New Zealand merino sheep.
The exhibition was designed around a central room, with each surrounding space dedicated to a distinct product family. This aligns with Boeri's guiding principle that a house should have separate rooms with independent exits and a common area that inhabitants share by choice.
Courtesy of Loro Piana
Courtesy of Loro Piana
Courtesy of Loro Piana
Courtesy of Loro Piana
Alessandro Mendini ‘Io sono un drago’
at Triennale
Among the series of excellent exhibitions at Triennale Milano (more on them later in the Installations section that follows) was a double homage to Alessandro Mendini's revolutionary work as an architect, designer, artist, and theorist. Open until October 13th 2024, the Cubo space hosts the retrospective ‘Io sono un drago. La vera storia di Alessandro Mendini’ (‘I am a dragon. The true story of Alessandro Mendini’) – staged in collaboration with the Archivio Alessandro Mendini and curated by Fulvio Irace, with exhibition design by Pierre Charpin. A wide-ranging retrospective of Mendini's multifaceted output, with over 400 works in different formats, materials and subjects sourced from multiple private and public collections, the exhibition is structured in different thematic sections.
The second installation in the Impluvium, dubbed ‘What?’ and imagined by Philippe Starck, runs until June 16th. This site-specific, somewhat trippy experience takes visitors into Mendini's subconscious and creative universe, guided by sounds and images in constant transformation.
Delfino Sisto Legnani, DSL Studio
Delfino Sisto Legnani, DSL Studio
Delfino Sisto Legnani, DSL Studio
Delfino Sisto Legnani, DSL Studio