Angelo Mangiarotti. When structures take form, 27 January – 23 April, Triennale Milano
Promising to be one of the most complete retrospectives on the Milanese architect, designer, sculptor and teacher, one of the Italian designers who has entered the history of international urbanism, the show offers a wide selection of materials made available by Fondazione Angelo Mangiarotti. Works, projects and documents, many seen in public for the first time, retrace the 60-year career of one of the great Italian masters of the architecture and design scene.
Architecture Now: New York, New Publics, 19 February – 29 July, MoMA, New York
A showcase of promising architects based in New York, presenting 12 projects by Adjaye Associates, Agency—Agency and Chris Woebken, CO Adaptive, James Corner Field Operations, Kinfolk Foundation, nArchitects, New Affiliates and Samuel Stewart-Halevy, Olalekan Jeyifous, Only If, Peterson Rich Office, SO – IL and SWA/Balsley, Weiss/Manfredi. Each project is accompanied by a video made by the director Hudson Lines.
Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth, 18 March – 23 October, Chatsworth House, Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK
At the home of the Dukes of Devonshire, in the splendid English countryside of Derbyshire, the projects of 16 artists and designers ‘invade’ the historic estate of Chatsworth, known for its role across the centuries as a showcase for art in all its forms. Works by Joris Laarman, Chris Schanck, Andile Dyalvane, Faye Toogood, Ettore Sottsass, Formafantasma, Max Lamb, Jay Sae Jung Oh, Fernando Laposse, Ndidi Ekubia, Joseph Walsh, Michael Anastassiades, Ini Archibong, Samuel Ross and Najla El Zein establish a dialogue with the history, architecture and interiors of this unique site.
Norman Foster, 10 May – 7 August, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Over 2000 sqm of exhibition space to host about 100 of the most iconic projects by the British architect Norman Foster, an outstanding figure of international design often indicated as the forerunner of the so-called ‘high-tech’ style. A large selection of his drawings and notebooks, along with models and prototypes, establish a dialogue with works of modern and contemporary art that have been decisive for Foster. The red thread of the exhibition is technological progress, which remains in step with an eco-sustainable approach, a distinctive factor in all of Foster’s output.
Herzog & de Meuron, 14 July – 15 October, Royal Academy of Arts, London
After creating outstanding projects like the Tate Modern, the Bird’s Nest National Stadium of Beijing and 1111 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the architecture firm founded in Basel in 1978 is featured in an exhibition of a wide range of works, including some still in progress. Through digital experiences and videos, accompanied by models, samples of materials and prototypes, the itinerary enables visitors to explore the perception of architecture in various urban contexts, while revealing the internal processes of the studio, winners of the Pritzker Prize in 2001.
Skateboard, 20 October 2023, The Design Museum, London
Curated by the industrial designer and skateboarder Jonathan Olivares, this is the first exhibition to explore the evolution of skateboard design in such detail. Through an overview of skateboard specimens, photographs and films with their original soundtracks, the show narrates the various ways – from the 1950s to the present – in which skaters and skateboards have adapted to the evolution of urban spaces, from sidewalks to swimming pools, all the way to skate parks, which have become a true architectural genre.
In conclusion, two exhibitions not to be missed which began in late 2022:
Design icons on film, Italy 1960–1990, until 15 January 2023, MAXXI, Rome
From a decade like the 1960s, marked by substantial changes of our society and the use of new materials, to the unrest of the 1970s, all the way to the advent of globalization leading up to the year 2000. Four fundamental periods for Made in Italy, analyzed and retraced through documentaries and videos whose protagonists are Italian design icons of the 20th century.
Universo Parisi: the glass and ceramic works of Ico and Luisa, until 28 May 2023, Pinacoteca Civica, Como
In the production of Ico Parisi (1916-1996), a student of Giuseppe Terragni, a versatile design and an outstanding exponent of Italian style in the 1950s, the figure of his wife Luisa was central from 1947 onward. Curated by Roberta Lietti with exhibition design by Cristiana Lopes and Giacomo Brenna, the show puts the spotlight on about 100 works in glass and ceramic created by the couple from the 1960s to the 1980s, in collaboration with prestigious Italian manufacturers, including the glassworks of Barovier&Toso and the Vicenza-based ceramics workshop of Zanolli&Sebellin.
