paola pivi's feathered bears frolic in the windows at la rinascente in milan

in celebration of milan design week 2017, artist paola pivi has infilled the window displays at la rinascente department in store with a colorful and playful scenography filled with feathered polar bears. ‘I am tired of eating fish’ — curated by cloe piccoli — has been conceived especially for the vitrines of the milanese landmark, and sees eight artistic displays overlook piazza duomo. looking into the storefront scenes, viewers enter pivi’s surreal world and dreamlike universe governed by laws of the absurd — where anything is possible.

watch the interview with paola pivi

in this historic and symbolic space for the city of milan, pivi adds her famous feathered bears — a motif which she has been working with for many years. each of the creatures enact a variety of positions, postures and playful poses within the windows at la rinascente. one all-white bear lounges at a workspace, feet propped up on a desk; another pink critter placed on a pedestal spins like ballerina. references to lifestyle and leisure, and nature and work are evident in the project, hovering between reality and hallucination and beckoning the question — is the world of paola pivi upside down, or are we?

all images by marco beck peccoz