This twelfth chapter of the 5VIE Design Week, scheduled from April 7 to 13, promises an immersive experience that transcends aesthetics to embrace the depths of emotion and perception.
The theme, as explained by co-founders Ernesta Del Cogliano and Emanuele Tessarolo, is inspired by the idea that true balance arises from the interaction between opposing elements: immersed in the world of design, this translates into a dialogue between voids and solids, forms, and materials, structure and fluidity. The result is creations that go beyond mere functionality, transforming into expressions very different from each other. To aid these suggestions, are the places themselves: the 5VIE district expands its horizons by including, besides the historical locations of Palazzo Correnti on Via Cesare Correnti 14 and SIAM on Via Santa Marta 18, the prestigious Cavallerizze on Via Olona 4, within the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci.
At the Cavallerizze, curator Maria Cristina Didero presents Abject: Inhabit the Poché, an innovative project by American designer Misha Kahn: visitors are welcomed in an environment draped in fabrics, where the new chairs from the brand Abject become both scenic elements and character-performers, their silhouettes dancing in the light, reminiscent of shadow puppetry. “Kahn is one of the most interesting international names in the limited design scene,” explains Didero. “The project he brings to Milan is a new adventure, which he calls Poché, a very small space, in-between, that exists between limited edition and serial design.”
In the same venue, Metamorphism by Julie & Jesse, curated by Annalisa Rosso, as the title suggests, is a sensorial ode to the unstoppable metamorphosis of matter, particularly ceramics, over time: “I met them in Hong Kong, where they work, a few months ago,” begins Rosso. “Their approach to ceramics, a material we all know very well, impressed me as they transform it into something completely new. They are very attached to local tradition, but hybridized with the most innovative technology. From here comes the balance of their work, combined with the ability to push the material beyond limits: you will see pieces that have never been made before.” At the center of the work, is a pyramidal structure inspired by both archaic ritual architectures and contemporary modularity.
The presence of designer Sara Ricciardi is unmissable, who this year doubles down, featuring in 5Vie with both the interactive and immersive installation The Chrysalis Knows The River’s Song, inspired by the transformation of the chrysalis ready to fly, and rendered as a sonic hourglass to enter. Then she presents Girotondi, an exhibition of a series of amphorae created following workshops in which children aged 4 to 10 were asked what love is.
Among other projects on display, Richard Yasmin‘s works stand out, blending tradition and modernity straddling art and fetishism, presenting a collection of “art de la table” that includes vases, vessels, and reversible bowls. Among vases and objects, Carolina Levi, founder of the art gallery Spazio Giallo in Rome, tells what remains when leaving the table.
Speaking of spaces, among the novelties is the Bar Altra Vista, a spin-off of Trattoria Altra Vista also at the Cavallerizze, but in a space reimagined as the stylized belly of a whale. The Singapore Design Council, hosted in the splendid Church of San Bernardino alle Monache, presents the third and final chapter of its path Future Impact: three interconnected exhibitions will explore the evolution of the country’s design identity and Singapore’s development through the lens of design. The Cervantes Institute inaugurates its new headquarters in the Crypt of Sant’Alessandro, showcasing 12 women designers from the contemporary Spanish scene.
