16 June 1990, Palazzo Grassi, Venice. The guests enter and are welcomed by Gianni Agnelli and his wife Marella, alongside Jay and Cindy Pritzker. “Architecture, like all art, is universal, as is science, as is intelligence”, states Gianni Agnelli. Aldo Rossi, in fact, is the first Italian architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
So opens the documentary “Aldo Rossi Design”, created in collaboration with Fondazione Aldo Rossi. Rare material and video archives, previously unreleased records, pictures and family albums are combined with writing from the remarkable architect to create the first video documentary on this subject.
A narrative ensemble that encompasses drawings, designs, prototypes, furniture and objects, which are presented together for the first time in the exhibition “Aldo Rossi Design. 1960-1997” at Milan’s Museo del Novecento from 29 April to 6 November 2022.
The preparation and instillation of the exhibition form part of the story, like the two micro-architectures that offer a prelude to the more intimate dimensions of the objects: Teatro del Mondo (Theatre of the World, 1979) and Le Cabine dell’elba (Cabins of Elba, 1980 and 1982).
“The Cabins were the perfect architecture, but they were also aligned along the sand and the white roads on timeless, unchanging mornings. I admit that in this sense they represent a particular aspect of form and happiness: youth” (Aldo Rossi, A Scientific Autobiography, 1999).
A world of objects of affection that, since 1979, has come together with industrial production and beautifully crafted manufacturing to result in the creation of furniture and everyday objects for Alessi, Artemide, Designtex, Bruno Longoni Atelier d’Arredamento, Molteni&C|unifor, Richard-Ginori, Rosenthal, and Up&Up (now upgroup). Twenty-five years on from the architect’s death, the exhibition reconsiders his legacy in the history of design, the connection between design, object and architecture, and the relationship with industry, experts, and design factories – with remarkable accounts from Morris Adjmi, Alberto Alessi, Ludovica Barassi, Alberto Ferlenga, Antonia Jannone, Daniel Libeskind, Bruno Longoni, Giorgio Pogliani, Paolo Portoghesi, Fausto Rossi, and Chiara Spangaro.
Screenings:
20/09/2022 – Cineteca Arlecchino, Milano
14/10/2022 – Artecinema27 – Teatro Augusteo, Napoli
18/10/2022 – MAXXI, Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo, Roma
19/10/2022 – Museo del 900, Milano
26/05/2023 – Mantovarchitettura, Mantova
Direction Francesca Molteni & Mattia Colombo
Photography Mattia Colombo
Video footage Beniamino Barrese, Jacopo Loiodice, Marco Vitale
Editing Silvia Biagioni
Producer Greta Giussani
Original music Andrea Laudante
Narrator Sandro Lombardi
Length 41 minutes
Year 2022
Language Italian/English
Produced by Muse Factory of Projects in partnership with Fondazione Aldo Rossi
Supported by Molteni Group