Milan Design Week 2018 starts under the sun and to really get in the groove of the buzzing Milanese event, a visit to the gallery of Rossana Orlandi is an absolute must. The former tie factory, recovered in 2002, has been transformed into an exhibition space dedicated to the most brilliant minds of design, on display thanks to the personal selection by gallerist and talent scout, Rossana Orlandi. It’s here that we find a new garden area, which beyond welcoming some of the exhibit’s pieces, hosts a temporary pavilion featuring a conference room and Illy lounge bar.
Inside, a room designed by Jacopo Foggini and decorated with Telami chairs from the varied Dedar canvases awaits a fantastic program of presentations, conferences, and talks from noted personalities in the field of design. Don’t miss the event scheduled for April 20th, dedicated to the project SENSO DI COLPA, organized by Orlandi herself to raise awareness on the theme of recycling plastics. Beginning with the current situation, where potentially reusable objects are carelessly thrown into the ocean, the debate will center around how to transform a disastrous situation into a creative opportunity. How? Naturally, by converting the plastic into design furniture. Set to contribute are Michele De Lucchi, Livia Peraldo - Editor in Chief of Elle Decor Italia -, Li Edelkoort, Cristina Morozzi, Alessandro Mendini, Massimiliano Adami, and many more.
Special guests include Li Edelkoort, the trend forecaster and design expert from Holland, and Ivy Ross, the vice-president of Google’s Hardware Design.
Together, the two have conceived the Softwear installation, showcasing the new line of hi-tech products that began in 2016. Among the products are a visor for virtual reality and the Google Home audio speakers, which is also present in the Onlife. Millennials at home exhibit by Elle Decor Italia.
Creating a friendly approach to the smartphones and Google tablets, refined hand-woven tapestries hang in colors echoed in the devices’ covers, while fabric details characterize the hardware launched by the web giant.
One room of the gallery has been reserved for Altreforme, now celebrating ten years with the Raw&Rainbow collection — 10 limited-edition objects between art and design created to explore the use of aluminum. Signing off on the pieces are Antonio Aricò, Serena Confalonieri, Marcantonio, Alessandro Zambelli, and Zanellato/Bortotto: 5 emerging designers from the Made in Italy panorama. Projects presented play with the dual nature of the material, sharing a technical version and a more colored and fantastical version.
A tour through the rest of the showroom transports you through the world with a solid showing from Italian designers.
After the bench and the stool presented last year, Gugliemo Poletti brings new pieces from the Equilibrium collection. Refined elegance finds a home in the large table with a thin tabletop and a suspended lamp in a game of tension.
Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba proposes a series of ironic and surprising lights inspired by nature, where animal sculptures are paired with crystals and baroque touches.
For his debut show, Andrea Russo presents a refined wardrobe for guests, offering visitors to Rossana’s a taste of his first collection of furnishings, distinguished by a mix of ultra-performing composite materials united with 3D patterns from the plant world.
Matteo Cibic returns to Rossana Orlandi with his latest installation evoking a DJ set for the brand MUTAFORMA. It’s the perfect occasion to demonstrate his versatility with laminated glass.
Dutch design is well represented with Piet Hein Eek and his Wunderkammer. The second floor hosts his idea of a shared space where art pieces are intertwined with furnishings. The British designers with Ochre bring a new version of the suspended Moonlight Murmuration, created especially for the Orlandi space. Nada Debs, the designer based in Beirut proposes furnishings, objects, and rugs where eastern tradition meets contemporary forms. Korean brand Mete puts up their new collection from 2018: refined furnishings where metal couples with shiny enamel surfaces and prized upholsteries. Expect to see the Paris Sofa from Andressen&Voll, the Lala Chair and the Lala Armchair from Nika Zupanc, and the mini tables from LVI Design.
In the basement, French brand Moustache sets up their new TGV Lamp by Ionna Vautrin, created for SNCF (French National Railways), now in a domestic version.
Galleria Rossana Orlandi
Via Matteo Bandello, 14/16
www.rossanaorlandi.com
Opening Picture: ROSSANA ORLANDI’S GALLERY OPENS FOR FUORISALONE 2018. PHOTO BY FILIPPO MESSINA.
