Triennale Milano, Philippe Starck pays tribute to Alessandro Mendini with an installation

Triennale Milan and Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in France present a double tribute to Alessandro Mendini (Milan, 1931 - 2019), an architect, designer, artist and theorist who marked the revolutions in thought and costume of the 20th century and the new millennium. In addition to the retrospective Io sono un drago. The True Story of Alessandro Mendini, from April 13 to October 13, 2024 made in collaboration with the Archivio Alessandro Mendini, curated by Fulvio Irace, with installation design signed by Pierre Charpin, Triennale Milano is hosting in its Impluvium, from April 16 to June 16, 2024, the installation What? A homage to Alessandro Mendini conceived by Philippe Starck. The retrospective and the installation, two never-before-seen projects designed specifically for the spaces of the Palazzo dell’Arte, stem from the close ties that both Triennale and Fondation Cartier had with Mendini. His projects at Triennale include the installation Architettura sussurrante (1979) as part of the 16th International Exhibition, the exhibition Quali Cose Siamo (2010), and the Teatro dei Burattini (2015), designed with his brother Francesco and placed in the Triennale garden. With the exhibition Fragilisme (2002) at Fondation Cartier, Alessandro Mendini elaborated one of the founding concepts of his theoretical thinking. Ten years later, he was invited to conceive the installation of Histoires de voir, as well as to imagine site-specific works and participate amostres of Fondation Cartier around the world. Among the most brilliant designers of our time, Starck has shared creative and professional experiences with Alessandro Mendini. What? is an immersive installation that takes visitors into Mendini’s subconscious and creative universe through the visionary eyes of Philippe Starck. The French designer involved in the project Soundwalk Collective, a collective of artists and musicians founded by Stephan Crasneanscki and internationally recognized for its concept albums, sound installations and performances from the Triennale Milano vivo, often in collaboration with artists, musicians and writers including Jean-Luc Godard, Nan Goldin and Patti Smith.

“I have a debt to Triennale and one to Alessandro,” Philippe Starck emphasizes. “As a young man in Milan, Triennale was a great revelation for me. I was completely fascinated by this building, which cleared my mind. I always liked Alessandro very much. Before he was a human being, he was an idea, a feeling, an osmotic vibration that I wanted to recreate through the installation conceived as an immersive experience in Alessandro Mendini’s brain.”

Notes on the artists

Alessandro Mendini was born in Milan. He was one of the theorists and promoters of the renewal of Italian design. Interested in writing and theorizing as well as designing, he edited the magazines “Casabella” (1970-1976), “Modo” (1977-1981) and “Domus”(1980-1985; 2010-2011). Monographs on his work and that accomplished with Alchemy have been published in various languages. He created a fairy-tale world of objects, furniture, environments, paintings, architecture. He has collaborated with international companies and has been a consultant to various industries, including in the Far East. An honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, he has been awarded three Compasso d’Oro for design (1979, 1981, 2014), and has been awarded Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France, Architectural League in New York, and the 2014 European Prize for Architecture in Chicago. He has received four honorary degrees in Milan, Paris, Wroclaw, Poland, and Seoul, Korea. His work can be found in various museums and private collections. His work seems to have two souls: one solitary and introverted and one devoted to group activity. Indeed, there are many works made alone, but also many with groups he has established. He founded Atelier Mendini in 1989 together with his architect brother Francesco Mendini, with whom he designed the Groningen Museum in the Netherlands, the Naples Metro Art Stations in Italy, and public and private buildings in Europe and Asia.

Philippe Starck, a world-renowned creative with multifaceted inventiveness, is always focused on the essential. His vision assumes that creation, whatever form it takes, should improve the lives of as many people as possible. This philosophy made him a forerunner of the concept of “democratic design,” of which he is still a leading exponent. Employing his prolific talents in a wide range of fields - from everyday products (furniture, juicers, electric bicycles and even a wind turbine), to architecture (hotels and restaurants conceived as inspiring places), to naval and space engineering (yachts, living modules for private space tourism - and continually pushing the boundaries and parameters of design, Starck has become one of the most visionary and celebrated creators on the contemporary international scene. Soundwalk Collective Soundwalk Collective is the contemporary sound arts platform of Stephan Crasneanscki, founder and artist, and Simone Merli, producer. The group draws on a constellation of artists and musicians with whom it develops sitespecific and context-specific sound projects that address conceptual, literary or artistic themes. On a path that follows multidisciplinary lines, Soundwalk Collective has cultivated long-term creative collaborations with, among others, musician Patti Smith, Triennale Milano director Jean-Luc Godard, photographer Nan Goldin, choreographer Sasha Waltz and actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. In this area, their practice has grappled with the narrative potential of sound by employing such diverse mediums as art installations, dance, music and film. All of Soundwalk Collective’s various forms of expression are characterized by a unique artistic approach. Whether in the creation of original compositions or the use of archival recordings, sound is always treated as tactile and poetic material, through which Soundwalk Collective creates layered narratives capable of dealing with themes such as memory, time, love and loss.

Triennale Milano, Philippe Starck pays tribute to Alessandro Mendini with an installation

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.