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At Milan’s Opera House La Scala on the opening night of Salone del Mobile, Italian architect Piero Lissoni turned around and smiled, “Welcome to Milano”. With this same sentiment, I welcome you to our Milan issue, dedicated to Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week 2023. We enlisted design commentators Karen McCartney and David Harrison to compile their Milan highlights in a detailed report covering the best of colour, Brutalist forms, organic shapes, iconic designs, outdoor installations, the revival of glass and resin, and evocative materiality. Next, we return to one of our first stops for the week, Nilufar Depot, where Karen speaks with inimitable gallerist Nina Yashar. At the same time, I speak with Milan’s leading design voices in 2023, including Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro, architects Patricia…
JANET ECHELMAN X KOHLER Palazzo del Senato, Via Senato 10 An ethereal, ever-changing coloured sculpture by American artist Janet Echelman was called ‘Noli Timere’ (Don’t be Afraid). Shown at the Palazzo del Senato, the collaboration with Kohler heralded the launch of her new sink in the Artist Editions series called 18.02, derived from the molecular weight of water and showcasing her signature geometric line work. LOEWE CHAIRS Palazzo Isimbardi, Corso Monforte 35 Stationed around the palazzo’s ancient stone cloister, this selling exhibition from luxury Spanish design house Loewe, took the humble stick chair as its central motif and, through the artistry of weavers and artisans, delivered avant-garde objects of colour and texture. Artistic interventions involving metal foil, shearling, raffia, felt and leather elevated these familiar chair typologies into genuine art forms. DAVIDPOMPA Alcova…
DESACRALIZED Galerie Philia Chiesa di San Vittore E 40 Martiri, Viale Lucania 18 Galerie Philia presented Desacralized featuring more than 20 designers in a deconsecrated church, never before used as an exhibition space. With white as the unifying theme, the tight curation ensured a singular sensibility, allowing drama through the monumental chandelier aptly named Cascades of Light by Italian design duo Morghen Studio; a Rick Owens chair with moose antler arm; Coquillages by Elsa Foulon (opposite) and Studio Henry Wilson with his Pagoda lamp. BUDDE X SOLIDNATURE Rosanna Orlandi Galleria Via Matteo Bandello, 14 Monolithic in nature but highly refined in practice, the FIVE x SEVEN series of five unique furniture pieces sees the Cologne-based furniture studio working with leading stone supplier SolidNature on a project that reuses stone off-cuts to create exciting one-off pieces. Drawing on the…
LIGHT – FLOATING REFLECTION Frank Lloyd Wright x Yamagiwa Spazio 31, Via Solferino 31 Set in an installation by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, Yamagiwa lamps showcased The Harmony of Form and Function. First dessigned in 1933 by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Taliesen 2 lighting systems are a series of illuminated rectangular boxes made of solid wood that act like tree branches. Made in the Japanese craft tradition, the collection is produced in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. EILEEN GRAY X CLASSICON Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea Via Solferino 44 Entitled Eileen Gray – Non Conformist Artist, this beautifully curated exhibition showcased the designer’s private artwork alongside ClassiCon’s production versions of her art-inspired, hand-knotted rugs and some of her iconic furniture pieces. Eileen Gray (1878-1976) understood how to translate painted watercolour designs into…
FAYE TOOGOOD X MAISON MATISSE 5VIE Studio Nerino, Via Santa Marta 21 Continuing the creative spirit of Henri Matisse, Maison Matisse collaborates with selected designers who embody the ‘philosophy of life marked by sharing, emotion, culture and generosity.’ Plugging directly into these sentiments is London-based designer Faye Toogood (pictured) whose Esquisses Collection across furniture, tables, rugs and blankets draws inspiration from the forms expressed in Matisse’s less well-known monochromatic drawings Dessins: Thémes et Variations (1943). CHRISTOPHE DELCOURT Fondazione Mudima Via Alessandro Tadino, 26 Christophe Delcourt is a master of the confident gesture, as exhibited by his new Delcourt collection. A love of materials and craftmanship – particularly stone and wood – becomes expressive under his design eye displaying a certain refined Primitivism. Objects, be they large scale interlocking ceramics, a lacquered folding screen or a carved…
GUBI Bagni Misteriosi Via Carlo Botta, 18 (Previous page) For Milan Design Week, ISSUE #47 Danish brand Gubi went all out with a series of installations curated by Marco Sammicheli in and around Milan’s Bagni Misteriosi with an indoor/outdoor theme of Under the Sun. (This page) The Tropique dining chair, designed in the 1950s by Mathieu Mategot, is at home poolside and brings a playful, retro glamour with its delicate curved metal frame and striped sling. ALCOVA Viale Molise, 62 In its fifth year, Alcova, curated by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, was located in a former abattoir in Porta Vittoria. This dilapidated series of buildings and open-air vistas allowed for surprise and revelation as counterpoints were struck by over 90 designers within the context of graffiti and decay. Oh, and there was a…
