Triennale pays tribute to Angelo Mangiarotti with extensive retrospective
‘Angelo Mangiarotti: When Structures Take Shape’ (until 23 April 2023) is an extensive retrospective of the Milanese architect's work, with contributions from Renzo Piano and UniFor
Museo del Design La Triennale in Milano is showing a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012), until 23 April 2023. The exhibition is an homage to the design master, who conceived some of the most influential pieces in the history of design and is now celebrated by one of Italy’s most respectable institutions.
Curated by Fulvio Irace with Francesca Albani, Franz Graf (architecture section), Luca Pietro Nicoletti (sculpture section) and Marco Sammicheli (design section), and realised with the support of Giulio Barazzetta, the exhibition ‘Angelo Mangiarotti: When Structures Take Shape’ will run until 23 April 2023. Among the contributors to the exhibition is Renzo Piano, who had worked closely with Mangiarotti and worked on the exhibition set-up, while the installation was created by Ottavio Di Blasi & Partners. UniFor was part of the exhibition as a technical sponsor, the exhibition design being based on Luca Meda’s metal structure for the ‘Progetto 25’ office partition system.
‘Angelo Mangiarotti: When Structures Take Shape’ at Triennale
This retrospective retraces the more than 60-year career of this eclectic and unique architect through material including designs that have never been shown to the public before. ‘For many years, Triennale Milano has been working on a project devoted to the great Italian masters of design, from Enzo Mari to Ettore Sottsass, to Achille Castiglioni and Pietro Lingeri,’ comments architect Stefano Boeri, president of Triennale. ‘The latest is Angelo Mangiarotti, an eclectic international personality who over the years carried out superb experiments in the fields of architecture, design, sculpture and infrastructure planning. The retrospective gives this key figure in 20th-century design his rightful place in history. We are particularly grateful to Renzo Piano for his participation in this important project – he himself studied under Mangiarotti and worked with him on the 14th International Exhibition in 1968, right here at Triennale.’
The exhibition aims to point out how Mangiarotti was able to approach every design problem as part of a broader issue. ‘The exhibition at Triennale is the first opportunity we have had to reveal the great master’s truly complex nature,’ adds curator Fulvio Irace. ‘This has long been ignored in favour of his reputation as a builder who focused on the processes of material culture and on the techniques of prefabrication. While it is true that Mangiarotti reinvented the eternal archetype of the post and lintel, so to speak, using it throughout his career in an astonishing range of variations, it is equally true that – as the exhibition points out – his work contains a creative vein of great plastic and sculptural power, which places it in the domain of art as well as in that of architecture and design.’
The exhibition catalogue is edited by Irace and published by Electa. As part of the exhibition is also an original film titled Un Angelo su Milano: Mangiarotti e la città (An angel on Milan; Mangiarotti and the city), produced by Muse Factory Projects, founded by Francesca Molteni.
‘Angelo Mangiarotti: When Structures Take Shape’ is on view until 23 April 2023
Triennale, Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Maria Cristina Didero is an independent design curator, consultant and author, who has contributed to many publications over the years. Didero has consulted for companies such as Vitra, Fritz Hansen, Lexus, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Valextra among others. Based in Milan, she works internationally, curating exhibitions for institutions: some of her most recent projects include Nendo: The Space in Between and The Conversation Show at the Holon Design Museum, Israel; FUN HOUSE by Snarkitecture at National Building Museum, Washington D.C.; SuperDesign a project about Italian radical design, NY; Vegan Design, or the Art of Reduction by Erez Nevi and The Fish and The Crowd by Carlo Massoud, Milan. In April 2022 she curated a Mathieu Lehanneur exhibition at the Triennale in Milan called The Inventory of Life, while in July she debuted a project at the MK&G in Hamburg titled Ask Me if I Believe in the Future, alongside a series of ongoing collaborations. She was appointed 2022 Curatorial Director of Design Miami/. She is currently preparing two projects for Milan Design Week 2023.
-
Private gallery Stiftung Froehlich in Stuttgart stands out with an organic, cloud-shaped top
Blue-sky thinking elevates Stiftung Froehlich, a purpose-built gallery for the Froehlich Foundation’s art collection near Stuttgart by Gabriele Glöckler
By Hili Perlson Published
-
RIBA House of the Year 2024: browse the shortlist and pick your favourite
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 shortlist is out, celebrating homes across the UK: it's time to place your bets. Which will win the top gong?
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition taps into the brand's creative followers
The unconventional features of Nothing Phone (2a)’s new limited edition come from a community-driven project to reshape the style and ethos of the smartphone
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Gather round: ‘Inequalities’ symposium at the Triennale Milano
Ahead of the 24th International exhibition at the Triennale Milano next year, 26 leading thinkers, curators and activists unpicked the theme ‘Inequalities’
By Will Jennings Published
-
Massimo Giorgetti’s new rug collection takes Milan’s 1960s metro system as a departure point
Fashion designer Massimo Giorgetti has designed a rug collection for CC-Tapis inspired by curving metal tubes that run along metro station staircases
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Design showcase Alcova announces its 2025 locations in Milan
Alcova, the roving design exhibition, will expand its footprint with two new locations in the northern Milan suburb of Varedo – a former factory and ancient greenhouses
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Elevate your interiors with Wallpaper* July 2024, the Design Directory
Wallpaper* July 2024 rounds up the best new furniture, lighting, kitchens, bathrooms and more – on sale now
By Bill Prince Published
-
Meridiani House in Milan is a showroom that feels like home
The newly styled Meridiani House at Milan’s Corso Venezia 29 is conceived as an elegant living space specific to its local context
By Simon Mills Published
-
Pioneering designer Gae Aulenti’s illustrious career is celebrated in a new Milan retrospective
Gae Aulenti, the Italian designer, architect and original thinker, is celebrated with a dedicated retrospective at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum
By Laura May Todd Published
-
New York Design Week 2024: the highlights
The Wallpaper* highlights from New York Design Week 2024: from ICFF to the independent shows and launches, on view from 16-23 May
By Dan Howarth Last updated
-
Japan in Milan: the best of Japanese design at Milan Design Week 2024
Discover the best of Japanese design showcasing innovative designs from terrazzo tables to tree-inspired textiles at Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile 2024
By Danielle Demetriou Published