KARTELL CELeBRATES ITS 70TH ANNIVErSARY AT PALAzZO REALE ON THE oCCASION OF MILaNO DESiGN WEeK
Text by: Fiammetta Cesana
Inaugurated on the first day of Salone del Mobile.Milano and on show till May 12, the exhibition “The art side of Kartell” moves across eleven distinctive rooms showing multimedia creations – from objects to installations, paintings, archive’s images, documents, till performances and prototypes – all immersed in the Appartamento dei Principi of Palazzo Reale. The 18th century bourgeois environment beautifully fits with the purpose of staging the parallel and complementary evolution of art and design that the brand has always carried out as its own signature.
The project, created by Ferruccio Laviani alongside the curation of Rita Selvaggio, emphasizes the relation between quality, art and industrial product, developing Kartell’s research of innovation technology which revolutionized the history of design since the aftermath of World War II.
In a perpetual dialogue of memories and contemporary references, the exhibition juxtaposes different visual languages by forming an intriguing narrative experience. Signed by the court architect Giacomo Tazzini, the Appartamento, representative of the Austrian Biedermeier style, creates thanks to the engagement with Kartell’s collection a vibrant context where old and new coexist in perfect harmony.
“We aimed to bring to Palazzo Reale a project that has an open perspective, investigating the relationship between Kartell and the world of art. A world that, since the very beginning, has always been closer to the brand, and it is precisely this relationship that the Exhibition deals with thanks to the work of the curators, since the evolution of the Art reflects in some ways the evolution of Kartell” – The President, Claudio Luti, said
To add even more sparkle, and a pinch of magic too, over the story of design, the exhibition in collaboration with ArtKids proposes an itinerary dedicated to the youngest ones, where the brand’s objects are told through the world of fairy tales.
