'Alchimie nel Vuoto': Elena Salmistraro's poetic inquiry of emptiness and change

Italian designer Elena Salmistraro, one of the most eccentric and recognised voices in global contemporary design today, presents her first solo exhibition Alchimie nel Vuoto, at Galleria Antonio Colombo, a reference point for contemporary art in Milan, Italy. Curated by Silvana Annicchiarico and on view from November 28, 2024 - February 8, 2025, this fascinating journey blends design, art and material experimentation, where the concept of emptiness becomes a space for creative and alchemical transformation.

Salmistraro is known for her multidisciplinary approach, where design merges with art, as well as fashion and illustration. Her works have been exhibited in prestigious international contexts, including the Salone del Mobile, the Triennale di Milano and the Design Museum of Barcelona. Her works are part of private and museum collections around the world and her distinctive style has influenced a new generation of designers and creatives. 

Alchimie nel Vuoto (translating to 'Alchemy in the Void') is a dialogue between opposites, an encounter between absence and presence, visible and invisible, where a series of installations and artworks merge design, sculpture art and craftsmanship. Salmistraro explores the concept of emptiness as a creative matrix, a fertile ground where new languages and meanings come to life. Her works, characterised by a continuous quest for balance between form, colour and texture, evoke a visionary narrative rooted in the collective imagination and the Italian artist's 'personal mythology'.

"In Alchimie nel Vuoto, Elena Salmistraro reinterprets emptiness not as a lack, but as the primordial condition for the birth of artistic creation. An absence that transforms into infinite potential," emphasises Annicchiarico. 

The design exhibition unfolds along a path where materials like ceramics, glass and metal combine into new, concrete alchemies, giving rise to a symbolic and poetic universe that embraces the sinuous and organic forms typical of Salmistraro's expressive language. The works on display play with the contrast between smooth and rough surfaces, bright colours and ethereal transparencies, creating an immersive experience that invites the viewer to reflect on what lies behind the apparent absence.