Milan, Italy
ADI Design Museum unveils an exhibition curated by Pierluigi Nicolin, Gaia Piccarolo, Nina Bassoli, and Maite García Sanchis that compares two leading figures of design and architecture — Marco Zanuso and Alessandro Mendini — in an all-new radical way.
An exhibition that lays the foundations for a reflection on Italian design and its values
Luciano Galimberti, President of ADI Association for Industrial Design
Dedicated to the figures of Marco Zanuso and Alessandro Mendini, the exhibition produced by ADI Design Museum is characterized by the great ability of the protagonists to enhance the dialogue between design and architecture.
In addition to the comparison between the design method of Marco Zanuso and the postmodern process of Alessandro Mendini, aimed at the poetic reworking of given images, there is a deeper reflection, which highlights how the paths of both designers developed in two different but complete and well-rounded visions.
The evidence of the aforementioned distance is apparent, should someone look at the formal and aesthetic outcomes, respectively.
A journey through their works, in fact, suggests some reflections accentuated by the possibility of admiring these two figures simultaneously, and precisely their juxtaposition stimulates a game of references, contrasts, and influences.
“Going beyond the same Italian context” underlines Pierluigi Nicolin, curator, “we can see how the ‘strong’ modernist themes of Zanuso and the ‘soft’ postmodernist ones of Mendini are based on their ability to invalidate the premises from which they start from and on a ‘sentimental journey’ that unites them. We can also see how each one ends up denying in his own way the existence of an insurmountable boundary for his own experience.”
The exhibition is divided into twelve chapters, symmetrically divided into six plus six, which develop along with the central space of the museum.
Comfort, Nuova Estetica, Grande Scala, Costruzione Modulare, Innovazione e Muri in Pietra are the sections dedicated to Marco Zanuso.
Alchimie, Global Toys, Decorazioni, Musei, Case, Testo e Immagine are those dedicated to Alessandro Mendini.
At the end of the course a special installation, where two episodes offer the view of the iconic portraits by Roberto Sambonet and a synthesis of the life and works of the two protagonists.
Conception and direction of the exhibition: Pierluigi Nicolin
Exhibition scientific coordination and Portraits section curation: Maite Garcia Sanchis
Marco Zanuso section curation: Gaia Piccarolo
Alessandro Mendini section curation: Nina Bassoli
Exhibition design: Studio Nicolin, Studio Sonnoli, and Maite Garcia Sanchis
Exhibition and communication graphic design: Leonardo Sonnoli and Irene Bacchi
Lighting design: Artemis
Supervision: Maite Garcia Sanchis
Exhibition set-up: Exibiz
Transports: Crown Fine Art
Insurance: Petrelli Broker
Catalogue: Electa
