IN AN AGE CHARACTERIZED BY THE SPEED OF TRANSFORMATIONS AND OF LIVING AS AN “EPHEMERAL AND REVERSIBLE” ACT, THE DESIGN PRODUCT BECOMES, SYMBOLICALLY, THE ELEMENT THAT RESISTS AND RIDES CHANGE IN AN INTERCONNECTED WORLD, WHERE THE ONLY TRACE OF IDENTITY SEEMS TO BE THE SERIES OF GESTURES, HABITS, AND RITUALS THAT DISTINGUISH INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR WAYS OF LIVING. SINCE THE 1960S B&B ITALIA HAS NURTURED AN APPROACH THAT WELCOMES AND INTERPRETS CHANGE, AND FORESHADOWS THE LIVING NEEDS THAT ARE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING, THE TRENDS THAT ARE RENEWED AND THE CULTURAL PHENOMENA, DRAWING ON PRODUCT RESEARCH AND ITS STRONG COMMUNICATION. FOR SOME TIME NOW, THE HOME HAS BECOME THE SPACE IN WHICH DOMESTIC LIVING, AS IT IS TRADITIONALLY DEFINED, HAS HAD TO MAKE ROOM FOR A MULTIPLICITY OF DYNAMICS THAT ARE PROPER TO THE CITY, BRINGING INSIDE IT A SYNOPSIS OF TYPICALLY EXTRANEOUS PRACTICES AND ACTIVITIES: WORK, SOCIAL LIFE, HYPER-CONNECTEDNESS, AND ADVERTISING ENTERING THE PRIVATE SPHERE. IN THE PASSAGE FROM AN ARCHITECTURAL CIVILIZATION TO A GOODS-BASED ONE, THE SOFA EMBODIES THE FETISH-OBJECT THAT INCREASINGLY BECOMES A SAFE AND REASSURING ELEMENT IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE, THE SYMBOL OF A UNIVERSE IN MINIATURE THAT ENDURES IN TIME AND THAT HOSTS A MULTIPLICITY OF ACTIONS, FLOWS, INFORMATION, A PROSTHESIS-OBJECT OF PEOPLE AND THEIR ACTIVITIES. IN THIS SENSE, WHAT SOUNDS EXTREMELY CONTEMPORARY IS THE SLOGAN “BAMBOLE CHE PASSANO SU BAMBOLE CHE RESTANO” (DOLLS THAT PASS ON DOLLS THAT REMAIN) FROM THE 1972 CAMPAIGN, PHOTOGRAPHED BY OLIVIERO TOSCANI, OF THE SOFA LE BAMBOLE DESIGNED BY MARIO BELLINI...

IN THE REALM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, WHERE CREATIVITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS, AND BOUNDARIES ARE MEANT TO BE PUSHED, FEW ARTISTS COMMAND ATTENTION LIKE THE ENIGMATIC GERMAN VISIONARY JOHN BOCK. HIS WORK IS A KALEIDOSCOPIC JOURNEY THROUGH THE REALMS OF THE ABSURD, THE SURREAL, AND THE THOUGHT-PROVOKING. AS WE PREPARE TO DELVE INTO THE PSYCHE OF THIS AVANT-GARDE MAESTRO, ONE CAN’T HELP BUT ANTICIPATE A RIVETING ENCOUNTER WITH THE UNCONVENTIONAL. “THE RANGE OF BOCK’S ARTISTIC MEANS IS REMARKABLY DIVERSE. IN FACT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PIN HIM DOWN AT ALL SINCE SO MUCH IS AMBIGUOUS, CRYPTIC, OBSCURE, AND ENIGMATIC,” WRITES ART CRITIC JENS HOFFMANN. “WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN, SPOKEN ABOUT, SEEN, OR HEARD OF IS OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE TO BOCK.” BORN IN GRIBBOHM, GERMANY, IN 1965, BOCK HAS CARVED A NICHE FOR HIMSELF IN THE GLOBAL ART SCENE WITH HIS DISTINCTIVE APPROACH THAT DEFIES CATEGORIZATION. HIS MULTIDISCIPLINARY ART BLURS THE LINES BETWEEN PERFORMANCE, INSTALLATION, SCULPTURE, AND FILM, CREATING AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE THAT CHALLENGES CONVENTIONAL NORMS. BOCK’S UNIVERSE IS A COLLISION OF CHAOS AND CONTEMPLATION, AN INTERSECTION WHERE THE BIZARRE AND THE PROFOUND ENGAGE IN A DANCE THAT LEAVES SPECTATORS BOTH BEWILDERED AND ENLIGHTENED. HIS WORK HAS BEEN SHOWCASED WORLDWIDE IN MUSEUMS SUCH AS THE PRADA FOUNDATION IN MILAN IN 2018...

THE IDEA WAS THAT BY REMOVING COMPETITION AND REPLACING THE FOREST WITH MONOCULTURES, THE INDIVIDUAL TREES WOULD THRIVE: MORE WATER, MORE LIGHT, MORE RESOURCES. INSTEAD, COMPARED TO FORESTS, THESE HOMOGENEOUS SOCIETIES OF TREES WERE FAR MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISEASES AND CLIMATIC STRESS. THE CONCEPT OF THE SOLITARY TREE ENGAGED IN THE DARWINIAN STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL, AS A VISIONARY SCIENTIST DISCOVERED NOT TOO MANY YEARS AGO, IS AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION: FORESTS ARE COMPLEX ECOSYSTEMS WHERE TREES OF DIFFERENT SPECIES INTERACT—THEY CLASH, BUT THEY ALSO HELP EACH OTHER OUT. AND THIS MUTUAL INFLUENCE, THIS CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, UNDERLIES THEIR SURVIVAL. INHOTIM IS A BIT LIKE THOSE STRANGE SYSTEMS WE CALL FORESTS: MORE THAN A MUSEUM, IT SEEMS LIKE A SUPERORGANISM, MADE UP OF MANY DIFFERENT REALITIES—THE GALLERIES, THE FOUNDATION, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN—WHICH ACQUIRE THEIR TRUE MEANING ONLY IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER. INHOTIM IS LOCATED IN MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL, 60 KM FROM THE CAPITAL BELO HORIZONTE, NESTLED BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC FOREST AND THE TROPICAL SAVANNA OF THE CERRADO, FAR FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY...

THE METALLIC SMELL AND DUST INTERRUPTED BY WAVES OF THE SCENT OF WISTERIA, THEN HONKING HORNS AND NEON SIGNS. YOU WALK AND FEEL PART OF A WHOLE, SOMETHING TAKING SHAPE, A MOVEMENT. YOU WALK AND THINK THAT YOU, TOO, ARE PART OF THAT MOTION, THAT GOING, GOING ON AND ON, AND SO YOU MOVE, TRYING TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. YOU ACCEPT THAT PUSHING AND SHOVING IS NECESSARY, PERHAPS JUST AS ARE ALL THOSE NAMES YOU’RE SCROLLING ON THE SCREEN, BUT THAT YOU’LL HEAR WHO KNOWS HOW MANY TIMES IN A YEAR. YOU THINK IT’S NECESSARY TO SCROLL THROUGH WITHOUT LINGERING TOO MUCH ON WHAT YOU’RE LEAVING BEHIND. A SEA OF ALERTS, RED DOTS WITH NUMBERS, SOUNDS, SCREENS THAT LIGHT UP AND THAT WE NEVER KEEP TOO FAR FROM OURSELVES. ANYTHING THAT CAN CONNECT US OR MAKE US TRACEABLE, IF WE THINK ABOUT IT, IS HARD TO PLACE OUTSIDE OUR FIELD OF VISION, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE ALONE. WHEN NO ONE IS WITH US TO DISTRACT OR GRAB OUR ATTENTION, WE TEND TO BELIEVE THAT THOSE TOOLS, WHICH ARE BY NOW AN EXTENSION OF OUR BODY, SHOULD STAY CLOSE BY, LIKE A TRUSTED FRIEND WOULD IN A COMPLEX MOMENT OR LIKE AN OBSEQUIOUS ASSISTANT...

NESTLED IN THE HEART OF BUFFALO, A CITY KNOWN FOR ITS HISTORY OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE CURRENT REVITALIZATION OF REMNANTS FROM THAT PAST, THE AKG (ALBRIGHT-KNOX-GUNDLACH) ART MUSEUM STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO ARTISTIC INNOVATION AND ARCHITECTURAL EXCELLENCE. RECENTLY RENOVATED BY THE PRESTIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE FIRM OMA, THE MUSEUM IS RENOWNED FOR ITS EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART, OFFERING VISITORS A CAPTIVATING JOURNEY THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF VISUAL CULTURE. DESIGNED BY PARTNER SHOHEI SHIGEMATSU OF OMA’S NEW YORK OFFICE IN COLLABORATION WITH COOPER ROBERTSON, THE PROJECT FEATURES NEW ADDITIONS, RENOVATIONS, AND MODERNIZATIONS THAT GRANTED THE MUSEUM TO TAKE A LEAP INTO THE CONTEMPORARY, RENEWING THE IDEA OF THE MUSEUM AS AN INTROVERTED AND AUTONOMOUS PLACE IN RELATION TO ITS SURROUNDINGS. THE DESIGN CONCEPT FOR THE AKG ART MUSEUM DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM THE SURROUNDING URBAN LANDSCAPE WHILE REINTERPRETING TRADITIONAL MUSEUM ARCHITECTURE. OMA’S APPROACH EMPHASIZES TRANSPARENCY, FLEXIBILITY, AND CONNECTIVITY, INVITING VISITORS TO ENGAGE WITH ART IN NEW AND EXCITING WAYS. THE MUSEUM’S SLEEK, CONTEMPORARY FACADE SERVES AS A STRIKING FOCAL POINT, BECKONING GUESTS TO EXPLORE THE TREASURES WITHIN. INSIDE, OMA’S DESIGN PRINCIPLES ARE EVIDENT IN THE MUSEUM’S LAYOUT AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION...

NO OTHER TIME OF THE YEAR PUSHES US TOWARDS THAT NEED TO BE PRESENT OUTSIDE. EMERGING FROM HIBERNATION APPLIES TO BOTH ANIMALS AND HUMANS ALIKE. THE DESIRE TO SOAK UP THE LIGHT, AFTER WINTERS THAT BECOME INCREASINGLY CATASTROPHIC EACH YEAR, TRIGGERS AN ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ACCELERATES RAPIDLY, LEVERAGING OUR LAZINESS AND INABILITY TO MAKE CONCRETE DECISIONS IN A RADICAL AND NECESSARY ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSITION. WITH EACH SPRING, WE FEEL PREDISPOSED TOWARDS A DESIRE FOR LIGHTNESS, AND AS IF BY MAGIC, OUR INNER SELVES ARE MORE INCLINED TOWARDS LISTENING. HOW WONDERFUL THE SENSATION OF THE APPROACHING HOLIDAY, OF THE MUCH-DESIRED MOMENT OF THE YEAR FOR RECOVERY AND TRAVEL. I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT TRAVEL AND THE JOURNEY OF BEING. THIS NECESSARY TEMPORAL SPACE ALLOWS US TO RESTART WITH ENERGY AND BRILLIANCE, BUT ABOVE ALL, NOURISHED. THE JOURNEY AS A METAPHOR AT THIS MOMENT SHOULD BE ONE OF INTROSPECTION, NOURISHMENT, AND PROFOUND SELF-REFLECTION. TECHNOLOGY HAS CERTAINLY HELPED US A LOT IN TRAVEL BY SHORTENING THE DISTANCE, BUT LOSING SIGHT OF THE JOURNEY. THE HIGHLY TECHNOLOGICAL SCENARIO IN WHICH WE LIVE IS SOMETHING THAT FUNCTIONS AS A MEANS SHOULD, IT HELPS US AND SPEEDS UP BUT MAKES US LOSE THE ESSENCE, THE ESSENCE OF GESTURES. BY TAKING ONE STEP AT A TIME, WE HAVE TIME TO THINK, UNDERSTAND, AND TRAVERSE. THE JOURNEY IS THE HUMANISM OF THE GESTURE. THE JOURNEY IS THE CONCEPT OF MOVEMENT. IT CHANGES, JUST LIKE THE DESIRE TO TRAVEL, AND ON THIS POINT, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU A CONCEPT THAT IS LOSING GROUND EVERY DAY. TECHNOLOGY IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES US LOSE THE ESSENCE; IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT EXCITES US; IT’S SOMETHING THAT GETS US FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER BUT DOESN’T LEAVE US WITH THE PLEASURE OF THE JOURNEY. THE JOURNEY I MEAN IS THE ONE THAT ACCOMPANIES YOU, THAT HOLDS YOUR HAND AS YOU GO OR HELPS YOU DELVE INTO THE DEPTHS. THE JOURNEY IS THE INTROSPECTION THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY DOESN’T LET US DISCOVER. IT’S A NOMADIC, ANARCHIC, AND MENTAL JOURNEY THAT AIDS IN GROWTH. WE WALK TO NOT MISS THE LANDSCAPES, WE WALK TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ONE STEP AFTER ANOTHER AND REACH THE DESTINATION WITH SOMETHING TO TELL. A THOUGHT, A REFLECTION. STELLA WANTS TO OPEN YOUR HEART BECAUSE ONLY THEN CAN YOU OPEN PEOPLE’S MINDS. IF YOU DON’T OPEN YOUR HEART, YOU WON’T OPEN YOUR MIND. THAT’S THE CHARM. WE WOULD LIKE TO ACCOMPANY YOU TOWARDS EVOLUTION, FROM IMPULSE TO EMOTION, FROM EMOTION TO FEELING. I HOPE TO DO WELL WITH WORDS THIS TIME TOO; FREE THOUGHT IS EVERYTHING AND CAN CHANGE THE SPIRIT OF LIFE AND SHOW US STARS WE’VE NEVER SEEN.

IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR A CORE FIGURE OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE PASSED AWAY. FOR THE FRENCH PANORAMA, BUT NOT ONLY THAT, RENÉE GAILHOUSTET REPRESENTED A STUBBORN VOICE, AN EXTRAORDINARY ONE IN A PROFUSE COMMITMENT TO ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE FOUNDED ON THE NEED TO DEVELOP A CRITICAL AND SOCIOPOLITICAL DISCOURSE ON COLLECTIVE SUBURBAN REALITIES. GAILHOUSTET WAS THE PROTAGONIST OF UNANIMOUS PUBLIC RECOGNITION, ALBEIT IN CERTAIN RESPECTS BELATED, IN THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 2000S, WITH THE ARCHITECT BY THEN IN HER EIGHTIES: SUFFICE IT TO RECALL, TO THIS REGARD, SEVERAL ILLUSTRIOUS AWARDS AND HONORS THAT THE ARCHITECT WON, INCLUDING THE PRIZE OF WOMEN ARCHITECTS, THE MUCH-ASPIRED TO TITLE OF COMMANDEUR DE L’ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES IN 2017, THE GOLD MEDAL OF HONOR AWARDED BY THE ACADÉMIE D’ARCHITECTURE IN 2018, AND, LASTLY, THE ATTRIBUTION OF THE PRESTIGIOUS GRAND PRIX NATIONAL DE L’ARCHITECTURE FROM THE FRENCH MINISTER OF CULTURE IN 2022. NONETHELESS, BEFORE THIS ESSENTIAL SERIES OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, GAILHOUSTET’S CAREER HAD BEGUN, MANY YEARS BEFORE, IN THE VIBRANT PARIS OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE 1960S. BÉNÉDICTE CHALJUB WROTE EXTENSIVELY ABOUT HER, RECONSTRUCTING AN IMPORTANT PROFILE OF GAILHOUSTET’S BIOGRAPHY AND OUTPUT THROUGH BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN ARTICLES, ESSAYS, AND AN EXHAUSTIVE, RECENTLY PUBLISHED MONOGRAPH...

SUSTAINABILITY AMBASSADOR OF DIESEL, CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF DIESEL LIVING, FOUNDER OF THE UPCYCLE BRAND MYAR AND THAT OF REDDUO HOMEWARE. ANDREA ROSSO IS A CREATIVE MIND, BUT AT THE SAME TIME A RATIONAL AND CONTEMPLATIVE ONE THAT SAFELY COORDINATES EVERY NEW IDEA, SPECIAL PROJECT, BUT CAN ESPECIALLY COUNT ON A TEAM THAT GETS ALONG WELL AND IS COMPETENT AS WELL...

I WONDER WHETHER NATURE AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS REPRESENTED IN PASCALI’S ORIGINAL SCULPTURES ACTUALLY DO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH NATURE. WHAT DO THOSE SCULPTURES HAVE TO DO, FOR INSTANCE, WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON IN AMERICA? IS THERE REALLY SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THEM? THE SUBVERSIVE PINO PASCALI SUCCEEDED IN GIVING A SHAPE TO HIS VISIONS AND HIS TALENT THROUGH AN ARTISTIC AND POWERFUL SOCIAL ANALYSIS. IN A ROME THAT WAS POETIC, REAL, AND RAW, HE BECAME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURES OF THE ARTE POVERA MOVEMENT, INFLUENCING AND ENRICHING MANY ARTISTS WHO GRAVITATED TOWARD IT IN THAT PERIOD, AND PAVING THE WAY FOR THE ONES TO COME. PINO PASCALI REPRESENTS THE POETICS OF THE UNEXPECTED, OF THE SABOTAGED CONCEPT. HE WAS THE FIRST POSTMODERN ARTIST IN THE HISTORY OF ITALIAN ART. WITH A TENDENCY TOWARD SCENIC COMBINATIONS, HIS WORKS ARE LINKED TO EXPERIMENTAL THEATER, THE LIVING THEATRE, AND JERZY GROTOWSKI IN PARTICULAR, AS WELL AS TO ANTONIN ARTAUD’S “THEATRE AND ITS DOUBLE.” HE KNEW HOW TO ARRANGE THE WORLD OF NATURE AND OF HUMANS BASED ON CYCLES, MEASURES, AND MODULES, WHICH WERE IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZABLE, COEXISTING WITH, AND NOT SUBJECTED TO, THE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES OF HIS TIME. AFTER HIS AVERAGE CAREER AS A STUDENT BETWEEN PUGLIA, HIS NATIVE LAND, AND NAPLES, THE ARTIST ARRIVED IN ROME TO ATTEND THE FINE ARTS ACADEMY, WHERE HIS PROFESSORS, ONE OF WHOM WAS TOTI SCIALOJA, NOTICED HIS OUTSTANDING, STRONG ATTITUDE...

TELLING THE GREENLANDERS’ VISUAL HISTORY, NOT SEEN THROUGH THE VISITORS’ EYES, BUT THROUGH THE GREENLANDERS’ OWN.” THIS IS THE ESSENCE OF THE PROJECT SIGNED BY INUUTEQ STORCH, A GREENLANDIC ARTIST FOR THE DANISH PAVILION. STORCH CORRECTS AND EXTENDS THE PREVAILING VISION OF GREENLAND TELLING A SELF-GOVERNING, AUTONOMOUS TERRITORY WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK. HIS WORK EXAMINES THE EXPANSIVENESS OF GREENLANDIC IDENTITY, SEAMLESSLY MERGING HISTORICAL AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS WITH CONTEMPORARY SNAPSHOTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. RISE OF THE SUNKEN SUN PRESENTS AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS BY THE ARTIST, IN NEW, SITE-SPECIFIC FORMATS, RE-CONTEXTUALIZING HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY WORKS THROUGH JUXTAPOSITION. COMPLEMENTED BY MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS AND SOUNDSCAPES, THE EXHIBITION ALSO INCLUDES A SCULPTURAL ELEMENT RESEMBLING A RED, GLOWING HALVED DISK. THE WORK SYMBOLIZES THE ARCTIC SUNSET OVER THE WHITE ICY LANDSCAPE, WITH ALLUSIONS TO THE GREENLANDIC FLAG, TRADITIONAL INUIT BELIEFS, AND THE EXHIBITION TITLE...

THIS ISSUE IS A BRIDGE, AN ADHESIVE THAT WITH ITS HEART JOINS ITS PAST, AND WITH ITS HANDS JOINS ITS FUTURE. THIS LETTER IS INSTEAD A MESSAGE TO ALL OF YOU. I AM ASKING YOU TO SEEK DAY AFTER DAY A NEW AND FANTASTIC NOURISHMENT, A NEW WAY OF VIEWING WHAT SURROUNDS US IN THESE TIMES OF DARKNESS. I AM ASKING YOU TO CONTINUE TO PLAY, I AM ASKING YOU TO SEEK IRONY AND FIND HAPPINESS BECAUSE THESE ARE THE ONLY EMOTIONS THAT CAN DISPEL THE FEAR AND HELP US TO IMAGINE A BETTER FUTURE. PLAYING MEANS READING AND PARTICIPATING IN EVERYTHING THAT INVOLVES YOU, IT MEANS LISTENING TO STORIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF OTHERS. SEEKING MEANS FEELING YOUR INSTINCT, THE ONE YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO PUSH BEYOND, TO OFFER A DIFFERENT VISION FROM A STATIC ONE, AND ATTEMPT TO ALWAYS AND CONTINUALLY TAKE RISKS. AND ALWAYS SEEK OPTIMISM, WHICH IS WHAT HELPS US TO LOOK BEYOND AND CONTINUE TO IMPROVE THIS MOMENT IN TIME WE ARE NOW LIVING. THIS MEANS ALWAYS SHIFTING ONE'S GAZE ONTO THE IMAGINATION. THE FUTURE IS A CONSTRUCTION THAT YOU CANNOT IMPROVISE BY YOURSELF. MOST PEOPLE LIVE BY INERTIA, AND IN ORDER TO SENSITIZE PEOPLE YOU NEED ACTIONS THAT ARE HOTLY DEBATED. THERE IS A NEED TO CONVERSE AND COMMUNICATE MORE THAN OTHERS SO THAT YOU'LL BE LISTENED TO, AND SO THAT PEOPLE CAN START TO THINK, REFLECT. WE CAN NO LONGER ESCAPE REALITY, AND INDIVIDUAL SURVIVAL CANNOT EXIST; INSTEAD, THERE IS A NEED FOR COMMON DESIRE. HAPPINESS COMES FROM TAKING CARE OF THIS WORLD AND OF THE PEOPLE WHO INHABIT IT. ALL OF US MUST UNDERSTAND JUST HOW FRAGILE AND COMPLEX THE PERIOD WE ARE LIVING IN IS, AND WHAT LIES AHEAD. EVERY MAJOR RADICAL CHANGE WILL HAPPEN TO OUR SPECIES AND WE HOPE FOR THE BEST. THE LIFE WE ARE LIVING NEEDS THOUGHT BECAUSE WHAT WE HAVE HAD UNTIL NOW IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT; WE WANT MORE AS WELL. OUR CLAIM IS THAT WE NEED MORE THAN JUST MONEY. AFTER THE PANDEMIC THERE WAS A WAR, NOW THERE IS ANOTHER ONE, AND OUR POINTS OF REFERENCE KEEP CHANGING CONSTANTLY AND SPEEDILY. TODAY WE HAVE THE KEYS TO UNDERSTAND AND TRULY INTERPRET THE NEW SEASONS. WE HAVE THE CULTURAL AND PERSONAL TRAITS WE NEED TO BE THE REAL PROTAGONISTS OF THIS NEW TIME. WE SEEK THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROTEST AND DREAM, DREAM AND PROTEST, UNTIL THERE WILL BE MORE STARDUST FOR US ALL.

ALESSIA FAGIOLI GALEONE

APRIL 18, 1938, THOMAS MANN WROTE IN HIS DIARY: “WARM SUMMER DAY, WEARING LIGHT SUIT, ON AN ARCHITECTURAL TOUR WITH RICHARD NEUTRA AND HIS WIFE…”MANN HAD JUST ARRIVED IN LOS ANGELES WITH HIS WIFE AND THEIR DAUGHTER ERIKA, A VISIT THAT WAS PART OF A TOUR OF TALKS TITLED “THE COMING VICTORY OF DEMOCRACY” THAT HAD BEEN ORGANIZED BY HIS PUBLISHER. OVER THE COURSE OF THE TOUR, THE MANNS DECIDED TO SPEND A FEW DAYS IN LOS ANGELES, AND IT WAS PRECISELY IN THAT CIRCUMSTANCE THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME MANN MET THE FAMOUS MODERNIST ARCHITECT IN THE CITY THAT WOULD SOON BECOME HIS NEW RESIDENCE. THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CLIMATE IN GERMANY HAD BECOME UNBEARABLE AS EARLY AS 1933, THE YEAR OF MANN’S LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH. ON THAT OCCASION MANN CRITICIZED THE LINKS BETWEEN NAZISM AND GERMAN ART, REFERRING IN PARTICULAR TO WAGNER WHOM HE WAS A GREAT FAN OF, AND UPSETTING THE NATIONALISTS WHO WERE PRESENT IN THE ROOM, AND NOT ONLY THEM. MANN SOON UNDERSTOOD THAT GERMANY HAD BECOME A PLACE THAT WAS NOT FOR THE FREE THINKER LIKE HIM, WHEREUPON HE MOVED TO KÜSNACHT, NEAR ZURICH, IN SWITZERLAND.THE FIRST YEARS OF VOLUNTARY EXILE WERE TOUGH ONES FOR THE GERMAN WRITER. YEARS OF TORMENT, DOUBTS, AND ENDLESS NIGHT-TIME REFLECTIONS THAT CONVINCED HIM TO LEAVE A EUROPE THAT WAS BEING TORN APART BY THE WINDS OF NAZISM. AFTER THREE SEMESTERS OF TEACHING AT PRINCETON, THOMAS MANN, TIRED OF THE SLEEPY TOWN IN NEW JERSEY AND PROBABLY THINKING ABOUT THAT WALK HE HAD TAKEN WITH RICHARD NEUTRA IN CALIFORNIA, DECIDED TO SETTLE PERMANENTLY ON THE WEST COAST. THE FIRST PLACE WHERE THE WRITER AND HIS FAMILY LIVED, 740 DI AMALFI DRIVE IN BRENTWOOD, WAS RATHER MODEST. HOWEVER, THE NEW NEIGHBORHOOD WAS FILLED WITH STIMULI.

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A RESIDENCE FOR ARTISTS, AN INDEPENDENT EXHIBITION AREA, AND A COLLECTION OF OVER FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY CONTEMPORARY ARTWORKS, ALL OF WHICH INSIDE A HISTORICAL PALAZZO IN THE HEART OF BRESCIA. THIS IS EDOARDO MONTI’S BY NOW FAMOUS BRAINCHILD. HE TOLD ME MORE ABOUT HIS JOURNEY AND THE DESIRES THAT CONTINUE TO MOTIVATE HIM. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A BERGAMASCO WHO LIVES IN BRESCIA BUT STUDIED IN LONDON AND WORKS IN NEW YORK? I AM VERY FOND OF BERGAMO, MY MOTHER, LUISA SCARONI, IS A BRESCIANA, AND I LIVED THERE UNTIL I FINISHED SECONDARY SCHOOL (A ‘LICEO CLASSICO’), BUT THEN I TOOK OFF FOR LONDON. IT WAS A HARD YEAR, BECAUSE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, AND BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. A FOUNDATION COURSE AT MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY GAVE ME A CHANCE TO TRY OUT LOTS OF THINGS. IT CHANGED MY LIFE. THEN I HAD AN INTERNSHIP AT STELLA MCCARTNEY, WHERE I REMAINED FOR EIGHT YEARS: THREE IN LONDON, AND FIVE IN NEW YORK. IT WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY JOB OF MY LIFE BEFORE STARTING TO WORK ON MY PROJECT. I WAS DOING COMMUNICATIONS AND PR, WHICH TAUGHT ME RIGOR AND DISCIPLINE. IT WAS AN UNREPEATABLE AND FORMATIVE OPPORTUNITY THAT REPAID ME FOR ALL MY STRUGGLES IN THE FASHION WORLD.

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“OFTEN I REALIZE THAT OUR WORLD HAS A STRANGE EGO-SYSTEM, IN WHICH, INSTEAD OF SIMPLY CARRYING ON WITH THEIR WORK, AN ARTIST WELCOMES VISITORS IN THEIR STUDIO, IS GIVEN A BRIEF, AND CONSEQUENTLY RESPONDS TO THAT STIMULUS.” THAT IS HOW MY CONVERSATION WITH SOPHIA AL-MARIA (BORN IN 1983) BEGINS: AN ARTIST, WRITER, AND DIRECTOR BORN IN THE UNITED STATES BUT WHO HAS MADE QATAR HER HOME. SHE HAS JUST ARRIVED IN LONDON FROM PARIS, WHERE HER VIDEO INSTALLATION “GRAVITY & GRACE” SERVED AS THE BACKDROP FOR MIU MIU’S S/S 2024 FASHION SHOW DURING PARIS FASHION WEEK. IT’S A SPECIAL PROJECT FOR THE ITALIAN FASHION HOUSE IN WHICH THE ARTIST TELLS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL TALE WHERE ATMOSPHERIC ELEMENTS, CLASSICAL COLUMNS, AND A JAPANESE KATANA ARE MIXED TOGETHER, REVEALING THIS INTELLECTUAL’S ATTRACTION FOR SURREALISM, SOMEONE WHO IS ALREADY FAMOUS FOR HAVING COINED THE TERM “GULF FUTURISM” AND FOR HAVING EXPLORED ALMOST DYSTOPIAN AND APOCALYPTIC ASPECTS OF CONSUMERISM. THE FIRST TIME I SAW YOUR WORK IN PERSON WAS DURING THE 2022 VENICE BIENNALE. IN THAT INSTANCE, YOU EXHIBITED THE VIDEO “TIGER STRIKE RED,” CHOSEN BY CURATOR CECILIA ALEMANI. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR METHOD AND THE THEMES YOU ADDRESS? I WAS INVITED TO PRESENT MY WORK WITHIN THE PAVILION OF APPLIED ARTS, A SPECIAL PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM IN LONDON; IT’S AN INSTITUTION THAT’S PROBLEMATIC IN MANY WAYS, BUT IT’S ALSO STEEPED IN HISTORY. ONE OF THE MAIN THEMES IN MY WORK IS PLAYING WITH GENRES AND NARRATIVES, AND THEN PLACING THEM IN UNEXPECTED CONTEXTS. I WANTED TO LOWER THE INSTITUTION’S TONE BECAUSE I COULDN’T IMAGINE DOING SOMETHING SERIOUS AT THE V&A; IT HAD TO BE A BIT CHILDISH AND SILLY. SO I THOUGHT OF THE AESTHETICS OF “SCOOBY-DOO” OR “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.” THEN, AS I CONTINUED MY RESEARCH, I DISCOVERED THAT A DANCER HAD PERFORMED THERE, A DANCER OF INDIAN ORIGIN WHOSE IDENTITY HAD SOMEHOW BEEN “ERASED.” EVEN IN THE V&A’S VISITORS GUIDE, HIS NAME WAS NOT MENTIONED; HE WAS SIMPLY DESCRIBED AS AN “INDIAN DANCER.” HIS NAME WAS ACTUALLY RAM GOPAL, A TRUE QUEER ICON TO ME, WHO POPULARIZED MANY TRADITIONAL ASIAN DANCES IN EUROPE DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR II. THERE ARE SO MANY LAYERS OF “CANCELLATION” INSIDE THAT MUSEUM...

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THERE IS ONE NOUN THAT RECURS IN A CYCLICAL, URGENT, AND AT TIMES OBSESSIVE MANNER IN THE WRITINGS OF OSCAR NIEMEYER. WHETHER AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES, OBSERVATIONS QUICKLY ANNOTATED WITH THE HELP OF A DRAWING, OR CONTRIBUTIONS DRAFTED BY OTHERS, ONE ALMOST INEVITABLY DISCOVERS A PRESENCE THAT DECISIVELY RUNS THROUGH THE WORK—AND, MORE DEEPLY, THE THINKING—OF THE BRAZILIAN ARCHITECT: THAT NOUN IS CURVE. THE NOUN “CURVE,” FROM THE LATIN CURVUS AND FROM THE MIDDLE ENGLISH “CURVED,” DATES TO THE MODERN AGE AND IDENTIFIES A BODY THAT IS BENT: IT IS AN ELEMENT THAT LINGERS IN ENDLESS ACROBATICS AND CONTORSIONS AND EXHIBITS ITSELF TO BE FLEXED. IN A THEME THAT WAS PARTICULARLY DEAR TO NIEMEYER AS WELL AS TO MOST ARCHITECTS, IN THE VERY FIRST INSTANCE THE CURVE REPRESENTS A COMPONENT OF THE LANDSCAPE, AS WELL AS A TOOL CHERISHED BY ILLUSTRIOUS ARTISTIC TRADITIONS. IT IS THE DIZZYING LINE DESCRIBED BY THE TROPICAL VEGETATION OF SÃO CONRADO, THE SPIRAL THAT CLIMBS UP ALONG A PROMONTORY OF GUANABARA BAY, THE HORIZON THAT SEEMS TO ARCH SLIGHTLY WHEN CONTEMPLATED FROM GREAT DISTANCES. A FIGURE, IN OTHER WORDS, THAT JOINS WITHIN ITSELF A DECALOGUE OF GEOMETRIES AS CONCRETE AS THEY ARE IMAGINARY, HAVING PRECISE GEOGRAPHICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL COORDINATES. OSCAR NIEMEYER WAS BORN IN RIO DE JANEIRO IN DECEMBER 1907.

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CRADLED IN THE ENGADINE, ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST PICTURESQUE VALLEYS, SUSCH SITS BETWEEN ST. MORITZ AND DAVOS. HERE WE FIND ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND EVOCATIVE SPACES FOR ART THAT HAS BEEN BUILT IN RECENT YEARS: MUZEUM SUSCH. THANKS TO THE BRAINCHILD OF COLLECTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST GRAŻYNA KULCZYK, MUZEUM SUSCH IS ONE OF SWITZERLAND’S MOST SPECIAL HIDDEN GEMS FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTWORKS AND THE SPACES IN WHICH THEY ARE HOUSED. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONVERSE WITH BOTH GRAZYNA KULCZYK, THE FOUNDER OF THE MUSEUM, AS WELL AS WITH MATYLDA TASZYCKA, THE CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION “ART IS NOT REST,” CURRENTLY ON VIEW AT MUZEUM SUSCH UNTIL THE END OF NOVEMBER 2023. DEAR GRAZYNA AND MATYLDA, I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS FIRST ON SOME QUESTIONS FOR MATYLDA CONCERNING THE WANDA CZEŁKOWSKA EXHIBITION, “ART IS NOT REST.” FIRST OF ALL, CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE US SOME BACKGROUND TO THE CURATORIAL PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED FOR THIS EXHIBITION AND YOUR STUDY ON WANDA CZEŁKOWSKA PRACTICE? IS THERE SOMETHING THAT PARTICULARLY ATTRACTED YOU ABOUT HER WORKS? M: WHEN I RECEIVED THE INVITATION FROM MUSEUM SUSCH, I REALIZED THAT MY ROLE WOULD BE TO TRANSLATE WANDA CZEŁKOWSKA’S COMPLEX WORK FOR AN AUDIENCE THAT WAS NOT NECESSARILY FAMILIAR WITH IT, NOR WITH THE SPECIFIC CONTEXT IN WHICH IT WAS CREATED. HOWEVER, I WANTED TO AVOID THE EASY, AND IN MY OPINION MISTAKEN, TRAP OF A NARRATIVE BUILT AROUND THE FIGURE OF A BEAUTIFUL, FORGOTTEN WOMEN ARTIST, FINALLY REDISCOVERED BY INTERNATIONAL CURATORS AND INSTITUTIONS. THE EXHIBITION WAS CONCEIVED IN PARALLEL WITH THE BOOK WE DEVOTED TO THE ARTIST, TO OFFER AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF HER WORK. I TOOK A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST IN HER WRITINGS AND IN THE VERY FEW INTERVIEWS SHE GAVE DURING HER LIFETIME, AND I REALIZED THAT SHE DID NOT WANT TO BE SEEN AS A VICTIM OF AN UNFAIR AND PATRIARCHAL ART WORLD. ON THE CONTRARY, SHE ASSERTED HER AMBITION AND HER INDIVIDUALISM. THIS IS WHAT I WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE THROUGH MY EXHIBITION, BY PLACING PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON HER MOST MONUMENTAL WORKS. IT WAS ALSO A WAY FOR ME TO ENGAGE WITH THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE MUSEUM, ITS INCREDIBLE SURROUNDINGS AND THE SITE-SPECIFIC WORKS DISPLAYED IN ITS GALLERIES.

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THERE IS A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH FROM 1976 THAT SHOWS A NUMBER OF RATHER EXCEPTIONAL NAMES FROM FRENCH AND, THEREFORE, WORLD FASHION. IF YOU LOOK AT THEM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, YOU WILL SEE THIERRY MUGLER, CLAUDE MONTANA, JEAN-CLAUDE DE LUCA, JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC, THEN PRESIDENT OF SHISEIDO YOSHIO OHNO, THE FASHION EDITOR MELKA TRÉANTON, THE FASHION DESIGNER DAN BÉRANGER, AND THE SUPER CONSULTANT JEAN-JACQUES PICART. AT THE CENTER OF THIS GROUP IS A TINY, BRIGHT FIGURE WEARING A WHITE OUTFIT AND SUEDE SHOES AS SHE SMILES AT THE CAMERA LENS AND SEEMS TO BE THE REAL FOCUS OF THE SHOT; HER NAME IS ANNE-MARIE BERETTA. BACK THEN THE THIRTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD FRENCH FASHION DESIGNER OF ITALIAN ORIGIN WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REAL CHANGES IN THE WAY WE IMAGINED A WOMAN'S WAY OF DRESSING, THE PRÊT-À-PORTER TO BE WORN EVERY DAY THAT WOULD GUARANTEE THAT RARE BALANCE BETWEEN PRACTICALITY AND AUTHENTIC ELEGANCE. AND YET THE 'REVOLUTIONS' OF MADAME BERETTA TOOK PLACE WITHOUT CLAMOR OR EXCESS, DEVOID OF THE KIND OF STURM UND DRANG OR NARCISSISTIC NARRATIVES THAT THE OTHER IMPORTANT FIGURES IN THAT BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO SHARED. AFTER SHE ARRIVED IN PARIS IN 1951, THE COUTURIERS ROGER BAUER AND JACQUES GRIFFE ENCOURAGED HER TO ENTER THE WORLD OF FASHION BY DESIGNING THEATER COSTUMES WITH ANTONIO CASTILLO. IT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A VERY LONG CAREER FILLED WITH CRUCIAL CONSULTING THAT REWROTE THE LEXICON OF DRESSING AND SILENTLY BUT RADICALLY GAVE THE FEMALE OUTFIT, FROM THE 1970S TO THE 1980S, THAT SCULPTURAL IMAGE OF MODERNITY THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY, NOT ONLY AS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE CREATIVE DIRECTORS OF CONTEMPORARY BRANDS, BUT ALSO IN THE FORMS DESIGNED BY MADAME BERETTA THAT ARE STILL BEING PRODUCED. YES, BECAUSE AFTER FOUNDING HER LABEL IN 1974, THE FASHION DESIGNER SIMPLY DESIGNED THE COAT MOST SOLD IN THE WORLD, FOR MAX MARA IN 1981, REVOLUTIONIZED THE RAINCOAT, AND MADE LEATHER CLOTHES 'DEMOCRATIC.' IF TODAY YOUNG FASHION SCHOOL STUDENTS OR JUST FASHIONISTAS FIND IT 'COOL' TO CROSS THE CITY WEARING OVERSIZE COATS WITH A GEOMETRIC CUT, UNWITTINGLY, THEY OWE IT ALL TO ANNE-MARIE BERETTA.

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RSATION WITH JOANNA WOŚ. KIND, CUTTING, FEMALE, MALE, ETHEREAL, EROTIC. IN CELESTIAL WORKS SHE DESCRIBES BRUTALITY. SHE MOVES BETWEEN VIOLENT REPRESENTATION AND INDISSOLUBLE LIGHTNESS. HER FLUID AND ELEGANT LINE REPRESENTS BODIES THAT INHABIT THE SPACE OF A PAIN THAT SEEMS TO DEFINE SPECIFIC ROLES IN A GAME BETWEEN VICTIM AND PREDATOR.

STELLAPUBLICATION
WE TALKED FOR OVER AN HOUR AND A HALF AND IN OUR PLEASANT CONVERSATION I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO START FROM A FEELING. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE URGENCY TO BEGIN FOR YOU?

JOANNA WOŚ
MAKING ART IS UNQUESTIONABLY A VERY URGENT MATTER FOR ME. IT WAS THE NEED TO FIND MYSELF, TO WORK WITH MY FEELINGS, ELABORATING THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME IN THE PAST AS WELL AS ELABORATING EMOTIONS AND TRYING TO ACHIEVE AN INTERPRETATION, IN A CERTAIN SENSE. AT FIRST I PAINTED CONVULSIVELY AND UNCEASINGLY, I WAS HYPERPRODUCTIVE, I HAD A LOT OF THINGS INSIDE ME THAT I NEEDED TO EXPRESS. NOW IT’S DIFFERENT. I’VE MATURED A PROCESS THAT UP TO NOW IS CERTAINLY BETTER ORGANIZED. IT WAS AS IF I HAD TO SHAPE MY OWN WORLD, THROUGH MY MEMORY AND MY IMAGINATION. FIND SPECIFIC MOMENTS OVER THE COURSE OF MY LIFE AND ELABORATE THEM VISUALLY, MAKING THEM A PART OF MY PRACTICE.

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