Core77

Milan Design Week 2017: Exhibitions Around Town

By Ray Hu - April 20, 2017

Maarten Baas, "May I Have Your Attention Please?" For the inaugural Ventura Centrale design district, Maarten Baas came up with an attention-grabbing audio installation. Ray Hu 1 of 57

Maarten Baas, "May I Have Your Attention Please?" The exhibition marked the debut of the Maarten Baas 101 Chair for Lensvelt Ray Hu 2 of 57

Maarten Baas, "May I Have Your Attention Please?" The chair takes the Dutch designer's signature child-like style. Ray Hu 3 of 57

Ventura Centrale The new district, launched by the same folks behind Ventura Lambrate, repurposes the tunnels underneath the train tracks leading to the central station. Ray Hu 4 of 57

Ventura Centrale - Baars & Bloemhoff presents "Transitions II" The materials consultancy brought the second edition of its "Transitions" exhibition series to Ventura Centrale, following its debut at Dutch Design Week in October Ray Hu 5 of 57

Ventura Centrale - Lee Broom presents "Time Machine" Always up for a spectacle, London-basedLee Broom celebrated his tenth anniversary with "Time Machine" in Milan Ray Hu 6 of 57

COS x Studio Swine, "New Spring" The sensory installationmay have been pure spectacle, but it was widely regarded as a must-see during design week. Ray Hu 7 of 57

Formafantasma, Foundation: "Ellipse" For their solo exhibition "Foundation," the Amsterdam-based duo presented several new lighting experiments at Spazio Krizia. Ray Hu 8 of 57

Formafantasma, Foundation: "Magnifiers" Some pieces are from their "Delta" collection for gallery Giustini/Stagetti, Galleria O. Roma. Ray Hu 9 of 57

Formafantasma, Foundation: "Riflesso - Test 2" Others are experiments for their first industrial-scale project, for FLOS. Ray Hu 10 of 57

Formafantasma, Foundation: "Colore - Test 3 and 7" Featuring suspended panes of dichroic glass, these are prototypes for the lamp that will be produced by FLOS. Ray Hu 11 of 57

Formafantasma, Foundation: "Eclisse" The exhibition was generally well received, though some questioned the practicality of their aesthetic experiments Ray Hu 12 of 57

Everything Is Connected - Andreas Bergsaker, "Aase" Leave it to the Norwegians to produce one of the strongest exhibitions in Ventura Lambrate, if not all of Milan, this year. Bergsaker's mirror was one of over two dozen pieces in the noteworthy group exhibition. Ray Hu 13 of 57

Everything Is Connected - Homstvedt and Klock, "Lily and Recover"; Aas & Zhang, "Bollard" carpet Comprising design and craft, Everything Is Connected offered a survey of contemporary projects produced in Norway. The cushions mark the first collaboration betweenHomstvedt and Klock, while the carpet is by Aas and Zhang. Ray Hu 14 of 57

Everything Is Connected Curated by designer and interior architect Katrin Greiling, the exhibition is a joint effort between Klubben, DOGA Design and Architecture Norway, and Jotun. Ray Hu 15 of 57

Everything Is Connected - Kari Mølstad, "Peak" Here, a pair of handsome hand-blown glass vessels by Lillehammer-based Mølstad. Ray Hu 16 of 57

Everything Is Connected - Kaja Dahl, "Norwegian Notes" Dahl's scent objects express the Norwegian spirit both in terms of material and aroma. Ray Hu 17 of 57

Everything Is Connected - Kiyoshi Yamamoto, "Sketch for a Tapestry" Experiments in silkscreened Norwegian and tropical wood, these pieces are not necessarily functional. Ray Hu 18 of 57

Airbnb presents "Passeggiata" For "Passeggiata," Airbnb invited Martina Mondadori Sartogo to curate a selection of contemporary design pieces in a historic private home, Casa degli Atellani, which boasts former residents such as Leonardo da Vinci. Ray Hu 19 of 57

Paul Cocksedge, "Excavation: Evicted" London-based designer Paul Cocksedge presented his latest project in the basement of the Fondazione Luigi Rovati, newly open to the public in anticipation of a forthcoming renovation. Ray Hu 20 of 57

Paul Cocksedge, "Excavation: Evicted" It's a fitting venue, considering the origin of the project: "Excavation: Evicted" the London-based designer's reaction to his eviction from his studio, due to property development. Ray Hu 21 of 57

Paul Cocksedge, "Excavation: Evicted" The stone was sourced from the floor of the studio, where Cocksedge worked for 12 years. Ray Hu 22 of 57

Paul Cocksedge, "Excavation: Evicted" Thus, the five pieces serve as a kind of visualization of his predicament, a material response to gentrification. Ray Hu 23 of 57

Paul Cocksedge, "Excavation: Evicted" The archaeological aspect is also beautifully executed. Ray Hu 24 of 57

Matter Made MM XVII - Philippe Malouin, "Arca"; Joseph Ribic, "Ohayo"; Jon Zawada, "Affordances" Matter Made launched several new pieces in Milan, including the modular "Arca" chandelier by Philippe Malouin. Ray Hu 25 of 57

Matter Made - Faye Toogood, floor lamp; 26 of 57

Matter Made MM XVII The New York-based company produces the pieces with a high level of craftsmanship and refinement. Ray Hu 27 of 57

Kvadrat presents Really. - Max Lamb, "Solid Textile Board Benches" Milan design week marked the launch of Really., an upcycling initiative from Kvadrat, in collaboration with designers Max Lamb and Christian Meindertsma. Ray Hu 28 of 57

Kvadrat presents Really - Max Lamb, "Solid Textile Board Benches" Using the new material made from textile waste, Lamb created a series of benches. Ray Hu 29 of 57

Kvadrat presents Really. - Max Lamb, "Solid Textile Board Benches" Really. marks an effort for the Danish brand to shift towards a circular economy. Ray Hu 30 of 57

Herman Miller and Maharam present "Chromatography: The Colour World of Scholten & Baijings" The Fuorisalone marked the debut of three new textiles (for Maharam) and a new sofa (for Herman Miller) designed by the Amsterdam-based couple. Ray Hu 31 of 57

Herman Miller and Maharam present "Chromatography: The Colour World of Scholten & Baijings" The exhibition is the result of three years' research and development with Maharam Design Studio. Ray Hu 32 of 57

Nomadic Bookstore by AA Museum Lab for Lars Müller Publishers. Piazza San Marco was the site of a pop-up bookstore designed by the students of the diploma group at London's Architectural Association School of Architecture. Ray Hu 33 of 57

Nomadic Bookstore by AA Museum Lab for Lars Müller Publishers Known as the "Nomadic Bookstore," the students created the pavilion for Lars Müller Publishers. Ray Hu 34 of 57

Nomadic Bookstore by AA Museum Lab for Lars Müller Publishers The Swiss publishing house hosted book signings by the likes of Jasper Morrison and Konstantin Grcic. Ray Hu 35 of 57

Nomadic Bookstore by AA Museum Lab for Lars Müller Publishers The diamond-point cork tiles of the interior offer a striking contrast with the LED exterior signage. Ray Hu 36 of 57

MINDCRAFT - Laerke Valum, "Moments Of"; Carl Emil Jacobsen, "Powder Variations" For the tenth year running, the Danish Arts Foundation has organized its flagship exhibition in Milan. Ray Hu 37 of 57

MINDCRAFT (installation view) Fashion designer Henrik Vibskov both curated the exhibition with the theme of "time" and created the installation from over 400 meters of Kvadrat textile. Ray Hu 38 of 57

MINDCRAFT - MBADV, "Bricks of Time" Maria Bruun & Anne Dorthe Vester made a custom nozzle for a vintage extruder for bricks in order to make the ceramic elements. Ray Hu 39 of 57

MINDCRAFT - Isabel Berglund, "Spinning Time Machine" The exhibition took place in the San Simpliciano cloister, where the notion of ritual underscores the theme. Ray Hu 40 of 57

MINDCRAFT - Eske Rex and Maria Mengel, "Sun Bed" The theme of "time" proved to be quite abstract, enabling a nice contrast between the setting, scenography, and pieces themselves. Ray Hu 41 of 57

MINDCRAFT - Christina Schou Christensen, "Lunch Recipes" Curator Vibskov assigned each of the 18 participants a timeframe, which was to inform the pieces. Ceramicist Christensen took her timestamps 11:44:33 – 12:36:01 as ratios between ingredients in these "test cookies." Ray Hu 42 of 57

LOCAL MILAN - Tom Fereday, "Mito" lamp; Emma Elizabeth, "Farfalla" rug; Jon Goulders, "Settlers" Community platform LOCAL DESIGN brought a group exhibition of 11 Australian designers to Milan. Ray Hu 43 of 57

LOCAL MILAN - Tom Skeehan, "Hoshi" armchair and "Holo" light; A.C.V. Studio, brass vessels Emma Elizabeth curated the group exhibition, now in its second edition. Ray Hu 44 of 57

LOCAL MILAN - Ross Gardam, "Ora" lamp; Tom Fereday, "Jeanette" & "Mito" The scenography in the Oratoria della Passione was composed of 8,000 white bricks. Ray Hu 45 of 57

A Matter of Perception: Linking Minds at Palazzo Litta The varied group exhibition returned to Palazzo Litta for the third year in a row. This time around, New York-based architecture firm DS+R created the courtyard installation. Ray Hu 46 of 57

A Matter of Perception: Linking Minds at Palazzo Litta Taking a form known as a "catenary diagrid," the installation is made from 300 pairs of jeans. Ray Hu 47 of 57

48 of 57

Wallpaper* Holy Handmade! Set in the Mediateca Santa Teresa, Wallpaper's perennial exhibition featured nearly three dozen new works by the likes of the Bouroullec brothers (the "veil" at back) and Snøhetta's "Stairway to Heaven" Ray Hu 49 of 57

Wallpaper* Holy Handmade! - Sabine Marcelis, "Volcanic Altar" To create the surface of her piece, Marcelis challenged Danish-Italian tile company Made a Mano to produce the largest single piece of volcanic stone possible. Ray Hu 50 of 57

The Fabrick Lab, "Sensus" A highlight of the Triennale was tucked in a dark room at the center of the Hong Kong Design Centre's "Confluence: 20+" exhibition. Ray Hu 51 of 57

The Fabrick Lab, "Sensus" Elaine Yan Ling Ng, a.k.a. The Fabrick Lab, developed a trio of interactive "creatures" in just six weeks, thanks to her knowledge of local manufacturers in the Hong Kong region. Ray Hu 52 of 57

The Fabrick Lab, "Sensus" Inspired by bioluminescent marine life, the robots are made by a combination of ADF weaving and additive manufacturing. Ray Hu 53 of 57

The Fabrick Lab, "Sensus" Hidden in the 3D-printed "bodies," IR sensors detect movement and proximity to activate the woven components. Ray Hu 54 of 57

BCXSY x Atelier Robotiq, "Out of Order" Design duo BCXSY collaborated with fabrication specialists Atelier Robotiq to create the OOO lamps, on view at Spazio Rossana Orlandi Ray Hu 55 of 57

The Moooi the merrier... Once again, the Dutch lighting company staged an elaborate spectacle in Tortona. Ray Hu 56 of 57

A/D/O pop-up store Brooklyn'sA/D/O creative space brought a few goodies to Tortona as well. Ray Hu 57 of 57

There are always the industry veterans who lament a decline in the quality of Milan design week, but all told it was a solid one, with as many highlights as ever before. Sure, that might be attributable to the surfeit of events and exhibitions, but rest assured there is far more to see than we can possibly include in our photo galleries.

From the cavernous spaces of the new Ventura Centrale district to showrooms and palazzos throughout the city center, here is a selection of photos from the Fuorisalone to complement our picks from the student exhibitions.

____

Full Salone Milan 2017 coverage:

Everyone Is a Winner at HEAD Genève's Salone Ludico

From Two Dimensions to New Dimensions

Technology, Craft, and Poetry from Japan

SaloneSatellite - 20 Years and Still Going Strong

Best in Glass

Form Follows Fiction

Gallery: School Is in Session