Formafantasma’s new collection explores nostalgia and the queer identity
Formafantasma present 'La Casa Dentro' at Fondazione ICA Milano (until 19 July 2024), where they draw inspiration from the domestic sphere and their own nostalgic perceptions of home
![Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view Ph. Andrea Rossetti Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4Lp8A2jR3VRkXMj9XTi4zX-415-80.jpg)
For as long as Formafantasma, the Milan-based design duo made up of Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, have been operating as a studio, their work has largely been characterised by its rigorous academic approach. Previous subjects have included the environmental effects of the wool industry, contemporary forestry, and the impact of technological waste. But for their most recent exhibition, 'La Casa Dentro,' which opened during Milan Design Week 2024 at the Fondazione ICA Milano (and is on view until 19 July 2024), the pair looked inward, seeking inspiration from the domestic sphere and their own nostalgic perceptions of home.
Formafantasma present 'La Casa Dentro'
Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view . Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists
The stark industrial confines of the ICA, located in Milan’s southern periphery, provide the backdrop to what Trimarchi and Farresin describe as a personal reckoning with Modernism. According to the designers, recent upheavals in their private lives forced them to rethink what they once considered truths of the 20th-century canon: the centring of rationality over emotion; the dominance of industrial aesthetics; and, most importantly, the absolute rejection of anything that could be classed as feminine or queer. The pair, who are also a couple, see the exhibition as an exercise in unlearning principles imposed by formal design education. For the first time, they have introduced their own personal narratives into their work — one that began amidst the quotidian finery of the family home.
Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view . Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists
'La Casa Dentro is referring to an interiorised version of the home that is a hybrid between personal memories and a more intellectual understanding of architecture and design,' the pair said in a conversation with curator Alberto Salvadori. Indeed, that hybridisation manifests in the literal sense. The collection is composed of furniture that contrasts strict Modernist aesthetics — curved steel and stark wooden planks — with elements they say reference their childhood memories of home like 'hand embroideries, painted floral patterns and silk volants.'
Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view . Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists
For instance, a chaise longue — composed of a body made up of unyielding blue-stained wooden boards and a bent steel armrest — has been decorated with a single hand-painted flower. Next to it sits a chimeric armchair: the bottom half upholstered with floral-embroidered fabric and a pleated sofa skirt, while the back and armrests are again made of wood and steel, this time stained a pale pistachio green. The collection’s standout piece, however, is a hanging lamp made up of a long horizontal cast glass shade suspended by steel rods. All along the metal supports, delicate glass flowers have been attached with metal ties, creating a sense of tension that feels as if it could shatter the fragile blooms at any moment.
Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view . Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists
'We wanted to depart from this staple of modern design and to stress its implicit ideologies by pairing it with decorative patterns either painted or embroidered,' they explain of the collection. 'This isn’t a postmodern pastiche, neither an ode to campness nor to kitsch. It is a romantic attempt to dignify personal memories and what is often culturally vilified, the decorative, the cute and, by extension of meaning, the feminine.'
Formafantasma. The Home Within Exhibition view . Courtesy Fondazione ICA Milano and the artists
'La Casa Dentro' by Formafantasma is on view during Milan Design Week 2024 and until 19 July 2024
Fondazione ICA Milano
Via Orobia, 26
20139 Milano
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
icamilano.it
formafantasma.com
Laura May Todd, Wallpaper's Milan Editor, based in the city, is a Canadian-born journalist covering design, architecture and style. She regularly contributes to a range of international publications, including T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, Azure and Sight Unseen, and is about to publish a book on Italian interiors.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn 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
-
Casa Mutina displays Ronan Bouroullec's creative universe
Ronan Bouroullec's designs for Mutina at Milan Design Week 2024 include outdoor tiles as well as ceramic editions
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
Jaipur Rugs unveils collaboration with Chanel's yarn maker Vimar1991
During Milan Design Week 2024, Jaipur Rugs demonstrated its expertise through a collaboration with Chanel-owned yarn experts Vimar1991
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
Wallpaper* and SNOW explore the alchemy of grown diamonds in a new film
Wallpaper* and grown-diamond specialist SNOW partnered on the Class of ’24 exhibition during Milan Design Week 2024 and a new film exploring the art and alchemy of the laboratory’s process
By Simon Mills Published
-
Adal brings Japan's disappearing natural materials to furniture design
Japanese brand Adal Look into Nature exhibited for the first time at Salone del Mobile 2024, showcasing its contemporary products made using igusa, a traditional material whose manufacturing is slowly disappearing
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
Toiletpaper Apartment debuts in Milan with a 'sophisticated' Alex Prager collaboration
Toiletpaper present 'ToiletAlex PaperPrager' their new unsettling projects on the occasion of Milan Design Week 2024
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
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
-
The new interior design trends we spotted at Salone del Mobile 2024
These are the interior design trends to look out for in 2024 and beyond, from soft upholstery to conversation pits and low dining
By Rosa Bertoli Published