Something special

photos Matteo Cirenei - text Maddalena Padovani

Notjust art installations and exceptional locations.

In the center of milan, the design majors (and others) offer a dream grounded in reality, made of unique and special objects, where what is ast onishing is the mastery of interpretation of the project material

Baccarat, at Palazzo Morando, unveiled its latest collection of lights by well known designers, including the Campana brothers, who for their first collaboration with the French maison have taken the risk of combining crystal with the humble materials of Brazilian crafts, like the bamboo used for the Fusion chandelier.		Everyone was looking up on Via Montenapoleone to see the strange protruding volumes on the facade of the building that contains the Rolex boutique. They were part of the installation “Crossing Time” done by 7 (Antonio Vittorio Carena) for Pisa Orologeria and produced in collaboration with Meritalia. In the photo, the Strip-Tease chair by Giulio Iacchetti in the new outdoor version.

Clockwise from top: the Bardi’s Bowl seat designed in 1951 by Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, now reissued by Arper in a limited edition.		The Grado° collection by Ron Gilad produced by Molteni & C. was the protagonist of the windows of the Ferragamo store on Via Montenapoleone.

The Cubo armchair designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1957 to experiment with the qualities of polyurethane in a new seating concept was put into production for the first time this year by Meritalia.		Fabrizio Plessi contributes the latest chapter in the Natuzzi Open Art project. Lava is the main feature of the video installations inside the Natuzzi store on Via Durini; the monitors, digital stones, sounds and drawings of the artist create a flow of energy that pays tribute to the industriousness of the company from Apulia.

In the Lea Ceramiche showroom, the installation Slim Hammam: Ottoman inspirations and digital patterns by Diego Grandi to usher in the collaboration between Lea Ceramiche and Effegibi, a manufacturer of saunas and Turkish baths. The red thread was the colorful graphic design of Slimtech, the ultralight sheet in porcelain stoneware with cold-process digital printing, based in this case on Ottoman fabrics (photo Paolo Veclani).		The alternation of presence and absence, matter and spirit was the theme behind the installation by Dejana Kabiljo at the Dorotheum space of Palazzo Amman. The leading presence was the Au,Fe chair, made with gilded springs.

Stripes of films, sequences of metals and reflecting surfaces that intersect in alternating compositions. This is the background of the furnishings, lights and complements of the Progetto Domestico collection by Vincenzo De Cotiis, shown at Galleria De Cotiis on Via San Raffaele.		Ora-Ïto continues his collaboration with Christofle with the new steel objects of the Arborescence collection, and the stylized landscape created by the French designer for the store on Corso Venezia.

Lots of leather petals made from scraps to form a theatrical frame for the Hive hassock by Atelier OÏ for B&B Italia, narrating the refined handiwork behind the object, with a base in steel rod and leather-clad uprights.		A special colorful installation for the windows of the Luxury Living showroom on Via Durini, highlighting the collaboration between Vladimir Kagan and Sacho, which for the occasion dressed up three iconic pieces by the famous designer: the Long Island Sofa, Serpentine Sofa and Crescent.

The Poltrona Frau display Leathership by Paola Navone, in the shop on Via Durini, narrated the culture of craftsmanship of Poltrona Frau. Three small works of architecture conceived as cabins, made with the skins used by the firm, brought out the colors, textures, details and possibilities for personalization offered by a catalogue featuring both contemporary and historic pieces, like the famous Chester armchair from 1912.