fornasetti unfolds a universe of creations and cultural projects for milan design week

milan design week has been the occasion for a new fornasetti universe to unfold. the milanese atelier presented its latest creations and cultural projects, characterized by its unmistakable visionary style and timeless aesthetic that intermingles humor, nostalgia, metaphor and imagination. throughout design week at the fornasetti store in milan, the rug collection — the highlight of 2019 — has been featured alongside magic tables, cabinets and trays of various sizes as well as the special new editions of ceramic cats. meanwhile, cultural events punctuate the festivities, with fornasetti projects taking shape at a number of locations around the city.

from the new rug collection: ‘pensèe’ | hand-tufted, new zealand wool and delicate silk | 190 x 280 cm

the new fornasetti collection for 2019 comprises eleven rugs born of a mixture of classical and contemporary themes. hand-tufted, the rugs are hand-tufted, and — like all of fornasetti’s creations — can be personalized using the atelier’s special custom-made service. meanwhile, the ‘serpente’ trays — made of wood or in porcelain and gold — take inspiration from nature and draw on drawing and engraving techniques.

details from the fornasetti store on corso venezia, milan
image © designboom

a special new edition ceramic cats, based off the original series from the 1940s and desired and coveted by avid collectors, are back in production as a special tribute to piero fornasetti. furthermore, the ‘magico’ table and the new long-legged cabinets are an epitome of the atelier’s provocatively tongue-in-cheek aesthetic — art combined with furniture can create an unusually sophisticated atmosphere in any room.

from the new rug collection: ‘lampuga’ | hand-tufted, new zealand wool and delicate silk | 140 x 240 cm

from the new rug collection: ‘peccato originale’ | hand-tufted, new zealand wool and delicate silk | 200 x 300 cm

details from the fornasetti store, corso venezia, milan
image © designboom

from the new rug collection: ‘re sole’ | hand-tufted, 100% new zealand wool | diameter 250 cm

from the new rug collection: ‘erbario’ | hand-tufted, new zealand wool and delicate silk | 165 x 240 cm

from the new rug collection: ‘high fidelity’ | hand-tufted, new zealand wool and delicate silk | diameter 180 cm

in addition to the new creations, fornasetti takes decorative art and design beyond their conventional boundaries once again through a collaborative exhibition with artist anj smith. ‘the mountain of the muse’, held at the museo poldi pezzoli in partnership with hauser & wirth, is dedicated to the british painter, and sees a number of works by smith presented as the result of an exclusive collaboration with fornasetti.

plates by artist anj smith designed for the exhibition ‘the mountain of the muse’
image © designboom

exhibited in the rooms of the house-museum, are three paintings especially created for the occasion, three etchings, smith’s personal reinterpretation of three plates, two vases and a trumeau. the idea of ‘climbing the mountain of the muse’ is a reference to lina cavalieri, muse of piero fornasetti and iconic queen of ‘tema e variazioni’. in smith’s collaboration with fornasetti, the artist takes the idea of cavalieri as a muse and reverses it — evidenced in the plate series ‘pleasure’, ‘irony’ and ‘ophelia’ as well as in the ‘orchis’ vases and in the trumeau.

the exhibition is a result of an on-going dialogue between smith and fornasetti
image © designboom

‘I felt an immediate affinity with anj’s work,’ says barnaba fornasetti. ‘although with a very different style, the richness in details and the ambiguity of the figures populating her landscapes are close to some elements of the visual universe created by my father. as in fornasetti’s one, her oneiric imagination is able to associate symbols – popular culture, antique, contemporary taste – seen sometimes as remains of far-away worlds. allowing a creative manipulation of one of our production’s icons has been a challenge: anj acted on the creations symbol of my father’s works, paying tribute to him and looking at him as an example of the past to be confronted with’.

exhibition view at ‘the mountain of the muse’
image © designboom