Can an artist talk about design? If his name is Paolo Gonzato and he has no boundaries, yes. In an era where everybody is building walls, he moves freely between design, art and fashion, creating stateless mash-ups that open up to new uses and interpretations. The key symbol is the rhombus, Harlequin’s archetypical pattern that Gonzato translates into painting and installations - working on surfaces that become three-dimensional – and masterpieces suitable to design.

After Federico Peri, Paolo Gonzato takes us to the last Milan Design Week, offering an overview about what was and was not worth it.

If I tell you Milan Design Week 2017, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

I think about combined heterogeneous materials and about future orientation.

What is the most interesting product you saw this past year?

A sculptural chaise long by Alessandro Mendini made with plastic drops/ecopixels, an object I’d really like to own.

Tie, Design, Triangle, Pattern, Bow tie, Fashion accessory, Origami, Furniture, pinterest
Courtesy photo

The most beautiful installation?

Well, Formafantasma at Spazio KRIZIA was particularly elegant and Maarten Baas near Central Station in the Nolo district (near my house) was truly stunning.

The most interesting person you met?

I had a metaphysic encounter with Toni Zuccheri through his tireless research in the world of glass that was over in 2008.

What left you disappointed?

The persistent proposition of bourgeois materials and shapes, an endless brass casting in every shape.

What would you like to see next year?

Less re-editions and more contemporary projects.

Your job in a sentence

It’s a mash-up of elements, modalities, possibilities, where nothing is absolute and creativity can be escaped in a thousand ways.