The 100th anniversary of Aurora, a historic Turin pen manufacturer, celebrated with an exhibition

Turin ’sOfficina della Scrittura is hosting, from May 31, 2019 to January 31, 2020, the Aurora Eterna exhibition, conceived on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Aurora, the historic Turin-based pen manufacturer and world ambassador of Made in Italy excellence. The exhibition compares the 100-year history of the famous company, within whose walls the Museo Officina della Scrittura has also stood since 2016, with the course of political, cultural and artistic events inItaly and beyond from 1919 to 2019.

For each decade, a dialogue is established between two timelines (the world of Aurora and the aurora of the World) while an iconic pen shares space with artworks, design objects and historical documents. Each section of the exhibition is thought of as a single “aurora,” made up of events and objects that have left their mark on the world by entering History.

Ten iconic pens have been chosen to represent the creativity of the Manifattura Aurora: from the R.A.00 (Rientrante Aurora) a tiny ebonite fountain pen not even 6 centimeters long designed to be worn on the wrist of debutantes in the early 1920s to make it easier for them to fill out their dance carnets; to the later R.A.3 Egizia from the 1930s laminated in gold with friezes reminiscent of ancient Egypt. From the Asterope that opens and closes with a single hand dedicated to the businessmen of the 1940s with little time on their hands; to the Aurora 88, the extraordinary pen created with Marcello Nizzoli in ’47 and still in production. It could not miss the legendary Auretta, the result of the collaboration with Albe Steiner, a regular guest in students’ backpacks in the 1960s; nor the iconic Hastil and Thesi designed by Marco Zanuso in the 1970s and since then exhibited at Moma in New York. Finally, a tribute to more recent creations: Ipsilon, the pen with the unmistakable clasp created in collaboration with Giampiero Bodino; Optima, the actualization of a pen from the 1930s characterized by an original Greek on the ring; and finally a Giuseppe Verdi, symbol of the most prestigious and most precious creations of the maison.

The last decade (of 2019) consists of letters dedicated to the museum, naturally handwritten with an Aurora pen by international artists and authors such as Emilia Azcárate, Paolo Babbiotti, Pascale Barret, Louise Bellamy, Leonardo Caffo, Lieven De Boeck, Hannah De Corte, Gian Giacomo Della Porta, Georges Didi-Huberman, Sébastien Fayard, Fred Forest, Michel François, Régis Gonzalez, Francesco Granieri, Ezio Gribaudo, Giorgio Griffa, Arturo Herrera, Emilio Isgrò, Pierre Jourde, Selçuk Mutlu, Giulio Paolini, Fabienne Radi, Stéphanie Roland, Rayyane Tabet, Agnès Thurnauer, David Tremlett.

Photographs and iconic works enrich the exhibition: a portrait of Marilyn by Philippe Halsman argues with a model airplane signed by Carlo Mollino; Gae Aulenti ’s Pipistrello illuminates Verner Panton’s Panton Chair; a Giorgio De Chirico lithograph meets a Sol LeWitt poster and a Joe Colombo object holder; Bruce Nauman ’s paintings contemplate Bruno Munari’s Tempo libero. Also featured are works by BHQF, David Delruelle, Peter Downsbrough, Lotta Hannernz, Albert Peppermans, Kelly Schacht and Nari Ward, along with correspondences and documents by Gabriele d’Annunzio, Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia and Gio Ponti.

The exhibition is made possible thanks to the collaboration of Italian cultural institutions such as the La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Center, the Camera Foundation, the Jewish Community of Turin, Casa Mollino, L’Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti in Venice, the Museo dell’Automobile di Torino(MAUTO), Girolamo Luxardo S.p.A, Officine Grande Riparazioni(OGR), Studio Pepe, Noire Gallery, Art to Date, Ansa and private collectors.

For all information you can call +39 011 034 30 90, send an email to info@officinadellascrittura.it or visit the official website of Officina della Scrittura.

Source: press release

The 100th anniversary of Aurora, a historic Turin pen manufacturer, celebrated with an exhibition

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