21 Jul Salone del Mobile day four
On the morning of our fourth day, we were reborn like a phoenix bird and enthusiastically embarked on the exciting programmes of our day.
We planned our last day in the bustle of the city, so we did our math and selected the most important exhibitions for us from the unseen exhibitions on our list, which we definitely did not want to miss. In order to start our morning, we decided on some of our favourite galleries, which are very different from the ones we are accustomed to in Hungary. Our first trip was to viale Lancetti, which, unlike our previous days, was a little further from our accommodation, so we took the metro and walked a little, because we had done that so long ago. 😊
The 1,500 m2 Nilufar Depot, dreamed up by Nina Yasher, is one of the most magical places at the exhibition. Incidentally, it can be visited all year round, so it is a compulsory programme for those who are visiting Milan and are a little bit open to the world of art and design furniture. The gallery is located in the building of a former silver factory, where you can wander through three upper floors in the world of dreams and wonders.
The atmosphere of the place absorbs us at the moment of arrival every time we visit here, as the industrial factory building provides a suitable background for the perfectly selected contemporary design to find the harmonious atmosphere with the iconic pieces of the historical design.
If we could say the word WONDER for just one thing, it would be this gallery, we are sure of that. This year we met the works of 25 internationally renowned artists in the gallery, which combined generations, nationalities and styles. The diversity of artists represented is enriching and entertaining. This year, we were captivated by the lighting fittings (even though all the pieces are impressive), and Bethan Laura Wood Trellis’s collection of hand-blown glass flower bouquets clustered on a steel frame structure evoke a fairytale world and combine delicate copper inserts with luxurious elegance. Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt Diciotto’s series with its gigantic dimensions, vibrant colours and balanced, overlapping, circular Plexiglas discs are sure to stop all spectators for a moment.
Waking up from our amazement, we set out to Rossana Orlandi’s Gallery, who left the fashion world 20 years ago to show herself in another area of design and open her gallery, which has since become one of the most well-known locations of any design addict. The design Mecca she dreamed up was given the name Ro, which is equal to magic, and this is true in every sense of the word.
Arriving in the garden, we find ourselves in a courtyard with a trellis covered with a 100-year-old grapevine, where Italian vibrant life is always given. We also relaxed here accompanied by a pleasant, cool Aperol Spritz before throwing ourselves into the bustling exhibition. It seems we really cannot escape the fascination of lightning bodies, and here, too, we found the most exciting pieces. The pieces of the Orion swirl and Polaris swirl collections were implemented in the cooperation of Bethan Gray and Baroncelli Atelier, each of which feature mouth-blown Murano glass spheres with blue, white and transparent glass stripes, evoking the flowing lines of Bethan’s scenic style. The designer transposed this line for each piece of the installation space, so the scenic character of the collection appeared on the leather sofa, ceramic objects and veneered furniture. Emanuela Crotti created a special technique, and we wanted to carry her unique cupboard home on our backs. Several layers of epoxy resin surround valuable objects, fragments of her memories, which in this case were a mixture of leaves, butterflies and hands, thus giving a three-dimensional appearance, which creates the illusion of a hovering collage in its objects.
Before our next stop, we hurried back to one of the sunny terraces of the Brera district for a common lunch with one of our representatives, where after a three-course lunch, which cannot be considered dietetic, and a few glasses of prosecco, we threw ourselves into our afternoon programme series with a little extra weight.
Before we would have started a long public transportation journey again, we headed to the showroom of Bottega Nove to admire the fascinating world of ceramic mosaics they dreamed up. Adam Nathaniel Furman combines Italian design with British spirit in the New Town collection, in which bold and elegant geometric shapes reinterpret the classic character. In the Plumage collection, Cristina Celestino was inspired by the poetic atmosphere of the plumage of birds, which took us, too, into the visual world of a romantic landscape.
Based on our experience, the cooperation of the big names always creates something very exciting and spectacular, so we could not miss viewing the joint collection of Rubelli and Luke Edward Hall. The pieces of the collection were inspired by Luke’s English country garden, so he combined his favourites such as stripes, flowers and geometric patterns with elements of ancient Greek and Roman art and created a really special product range.
Moving on to our planned closing programme for our evening, we decided to make one more quick detour. Anyone who has been to any event organized by the Toiletpaper brand knows that they are characterized by emblematic patterns and always a creative, colourful and imaginative world. Their new, spectacular environment has invited curious passersby to immerse themselves in their dream-like imagery in a surprising place where the façades of historical homes have been transformed into real works of art.
A street where you cannot be sad. 😊
Unfortunately, since there was a long queue waiting at the internal exhibition, we continued to the last venue of our day since there is always a lot to see on the premises of the State University of Milan, which requires plenty of time.
This year, too, we found ourselves in the dense forest of mazes at Statalen, and thanks to Piero Lissoni, we were literally swallowed up by the A-Maze Garden. One of the most spectacular installations was the labyrinth surrounded by curved walls covered with reflective aluminium, where the alternating heights of the walls played with the perspective of the space, thus allowing us to find ourselves from time to time. After a long search for our way, it was time to freshen up at the futuristic fountain imagined by Elena Salmistraro. 😊 The well refers to the nine-headed creature of Greek mythology, which is able to regenerate itself, which is clearly related to this year’s theme of the exhibition, i.e. regeneration, change and interaction.
The last cooperation of the exhibition, which our time and light conditions allowed us to see, was the common dream of Ovre design and the company Cerasarda, where the designers revived the theme of regeneration by focusing on the relationship of humanity with natural elements. Each space of the installation highlights a natural element, the illuminating symbol of which is revealed only when the visitor (in our case Móni) looks at the reflecting mirror. And Cerasarda reinforced these elements with their ceramic tile coverings and covered symbolic vases.
We ended our day full of experiences with a pleasant aperitivo next to the university to prepare for the last day of the exhibition.
