works by marco zanuso & alessandro mendini converse in latest exhibition by ADI museum

marco zanuso and alessandro mendini at adi museum

on monday 7 march 2022, ADI design museum launches the new marco zanuso and alessandro mendini exhibition, curated by pierluigi nicolin with maite garcía sanchis, gaia piccarolo and nina bassoli. the display showcases multiple works by the two great protagonists of italian design, while sparking a dialogue between concreteness and abstraction, modern and postmodern, design and architecture. multiple works created by both designers will be placed one in front of the other, to stimulate a game of references, contrasts, and influences.

all images © martina bonetti, unless stated otherwise

creating a meaningful comparison between the two protagonists

according to luciano galimberti, president of the ADI association, this latest exhibition intends to lay the foundations for mindful reflection on italian design and its values. dedicated to marco zanuso and alessandro mendini, the show produced by the design museum will create a comparison between the two great protagonists of architecture and design in an unprecedented manner. the exhibition does not stop at the comparison between the choice of design method of one and the postmodern procedure of the other. on the contrary, focused on the poetic reinterpretation of given images, it unveils a deeper reflection, highlighting how the professionalism of both protagonists developed in a complete range of attentions, in two different yet both complete visions.

‘going beyond the italian context itself’, says curator pierluigi nicolin, ‘we can see how zanuso’s ‘strong’ modernist themes and mendini’s ‘weak’ post-modernist ones are based on the ability to invalidate the premises from which they start and, in the particular ‘sentimental journey’ that they share, see how each one ends up denying in its own way the existence of an impassable boundary to its own experience’.

the exhibition consists of twelve chapters, symmetrically divided into six plus six, which develop along the central space of the museum. comfort, new aesthetics, grand staircase, modular construction, innovation, and stone walls are the sections dedicated to marco zanuso, while alchemy, global toys, decorations, museums, houses, text, and image are the sections dedicated to alessandro mendini. at the end of the path, visitors find a special installation dedicated to the sambonet compasso d’oro lifetime achievement awards, both a synthesis of the life and works of the two protagonists, curated by maite garcìa sanchis.

alessandro mendini on the magis proust armchair (magis, 2015). alessandro mendini archive

image courtesy of carlo lavatori

marco zanuso with some of his most iconic designs. balerna, archivio del moderno, marco zanuso collection

image courtesy of eredi marco zanuso

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alessandro mendini, armchair by proust, 2009. alessandro mendini collection - triennale milano permanent collection. image courtesy of archivio alessandro mendini.

alessandro mendini, alessandro 'sub-spieces' of chandelier, 2006. image courtesy of archivio alessandro mendini.

alessandro mendini, 2003. alessandro mendini collection - triennale milano permanent collection. image courtesy of archivio alessandro mendini.

proposal for the 'underground naples international laboratory', 1988, perspective view of the flower factory. balerna, archivio del moderno, fondo marco zanuso.

marco zanuso, olivetti brazil factory, guarulhos, san paolo, 1956-1961, view of the vaults and skylights during the construction. olivetti historical archive association, ivrea-italy.

marco zanuso, black TV, brionvega, 1969, turned off and on. brionvega archive. image by aldo ballo.

marco zanuso, K1340 (later K4999) children's chair, kartell, 1959-1964, kartell museum archive.

alessandro mendini, essere ben essere, 2000. alessandro mendini collection - triennale milano permanent collection. image courtesy of archivio alessandro mendini.

alessandro mendini, groninger museum, groningen, the netherlands, 1989-1994. image by erik and petra hesmerg.

project info: 

exhibition name: marco zanuso e alessandro mendini. design e achitettura

curator: pier luigi nicolin
co-curators: nina bassoli, gaia piccarolo, maite garcia sanchis
preparation: nicolin studio, sonnoli studio
lighting project: artemis
location: ADI design museum (compasso d’oro square, 1, 20154 milan)
dates: 8 march – 12 june 2022