enzo mari exhibition curated by hans ulrich obrist opens at triennale milano

one of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year has been unveiled at triennale milano, together with its museo del design italiano. titled enzo mari curated by hans ulrich obrist, the show, which was co-curated by francesca giacomelli, is devoted to one of the most important designers, artists, critics and theorist of our time, the brilliant enzo mari. composed of projects, models, drawings and materials, some which have never seen the light before, the exhibition gives visitors an opportunity to examine mari’s long career.

all images © designboom unless otherwise noted
main image © gianluca di ioia

the ENZO MARI CURATED BY HANS ULRICH OBRIST exhibition at triennale milano was born from the many dialogues and exchanges of ideas over the years between mari and the curator hans ulrich obrist, looking at more than 60 years of art and design, architecture and philosophy, teaching and graphics. ‘in my conversations with mari about his work and engagements in the 1960s, I learned about his connection to communism and the arts and crafts movement, and how he always saw design as inherently political,’ obrist recalls. ‘I began to understand how many dimensions there are to his work: he’s an industrial designer, a furniture designer, an exhibition-maker, an artist, a manifesto-writer, a polemicist especially famous for his rages against the design world. whenever I travelled through milan from paris to venice, I’d never miss an opportunity to meet up with him and his partner, the seminal feminist art critic, curator and pioneer of performance art lea vergine, and we’d go and see some shows together.’

the exhibition is divided into two parts; in a historical section and in a series of works from international artists and designers who were invited to pay tribute to mari with site-specific installations and new, specially commissioned works. the historical section starts with a new display of mari’s last exhibition, enzo mari. l’arte del design, held at GAM in turin, which was on from october 29, 2008 to january 6, 2009. the project, which was prepared and curated by mari himself, features a selection of about 250 of his projects. from the pitture of the 1950s, all the way to the design per un nuovo museum del design (2009-2010), the works are shown in chronological order, without distinguishing between disciplines, media, or types of research.

concurrently, nineteen research platforms give cues into the individual projects that have given rise to the key themes of mari’s artistic vision and practice — investigations of perceptual ambiguities, research into experimental production, studies of mass-production, the theme of standards and so on. the exhibition also includes a series of video interviews by hans ulrich obrist that illustrate mari’s constant ethical tensions, the depth of his theoretical understanding, and his extraordinary design skills with which he has given shape to the essential.

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project info:

name: enzo mari curated by hans ulrich obrist
co-curated: francesca giacomelli
exhibition design: paolo ulian
artistic director: lorenza baroncelli
dates: october 17, 2020 – april 18, 2021
location: triennale milano