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La tradizione del nuovo takes viewers on a nostalgic voyage to discover the bold and experiential entity of Italian design and how it has always outshined throughout the history of design. When it comes to curating an art style, traditional and contemporary design are inextricably linked, which may result in something completely different in the end. The ongoing exhibition curated by Marco Sammicheli, director of Triennale Milano's Museo del Design Italiano, highlights a wide range of ideas, installations, documents, creative processes, and experimental pieces that have contributed to societal development between 1964 and 1996. Gathering references from the permanent collections at the Museo del Design Italiano and the archives of the Triennale, the exhibits on display until January 8, 2023, display the works and documents that recount the creative processes through the years.
"La tradizione del nuovo takes up the overarching theme of the 23rd International Exhibition with the idea that Italian design has always adopted a bold, determined approach of exploration, taking on the not yet known, and facing the challenge of what has not yet been allowed or made possible by research," says Sammicheli. "It has scratched away at the unknown in its attempts, failures and actions that, through trial and error, or by chance, determination or passion, have led to the acquisition of previously unknown knowledge," he adds. The design exhibition investigates a variety of chronological and thematic paths that have previously influenced society, solidifying itself. The pieces in the exhibition refer to specific examples from the timeline, and they touch on sociological, commercial, ecological, technological, and cultural aspects that Italian design has attempted to create. One can find references to International Exhibitions - from Tempo libero (Leisure), the 13th Triennale (1964) to Identità e differenze (Identity and Difference), the 19th Triennale (1996) which highlights the pressing challenges on the environment, the social inclusion of identities, global geography, and more complex strategies.
The international exhibition demonstrates the idea of bringing together ideas of innovation and invention against the backdrop of history and social timeline of events. The bridge between what was and what can be is subtly created for the viewer to comprehend the ideation of a process that creates a lasting impact. Examples include the 13th Triennale, which was devoted to free time, with all its expectations and new rituals, through to the exhibitions Le case della Triennale (Houses of the Triennale, 1983), La neomerce (1984), Le affinità elettive (Elective Affinities, 1985) e Il progetto domestico (Domestic Design, 1986). The provocative background continues to intrigue guests to come up with housing and production metaphors to imagine existing or ideal lifestyle design often with unusual and paradoxical objects.
The exhibition weaves its way through the space like an archipelago of words, projects, and actions which include 'Gravity', 'Human Containers', 'Environments', 'Editorial Office', '80s Movements', 'Horizons', and 'Synaesthesia and Music'. These themes highlight the scope of the research that has been carried out over the years by individuals, schools, and collectives who, on their own or in collaboration with companies, have taken the risk of imagining new scenarios whose limits they did not know but for which they believed they could offer a better quality of life. Designers, companies, schools and newspapers constantly try to mould and experiment with materials and exhibits, a process which would develop new trends, strategies, functions and behaviours. "The display installation of La tradizione del nuovo, is designed by Zaven, a studio based in Venice, and shows a range of materials, design methods and cultural aspects that point towards new formal and creative ways of keeping alive the process of constant experimentation, discovery and research that is so much a part of Italian design," Sammicheli shares.
Detailed monographic studies with Liisi Beckmann, Claudio Salocchi, Roberto Sambonet, the Exhibition Design Group, Fiorucci DXing, Alberto Meda and Clino Trini Castelli highlight the role of the arts and technologies that have benefited from their research. These designers, in particular, created unexpected phenomena, doubts, answers, and technical strides for the professional community of Italian design and the world at large. The installation design by Zaven depicts a variety of materials, design methods, and cultural aspects that point to new formal and creative ways of preserving the process of constant experimentation, discovery, and research that is so central to Italian design.
La tradizione del nuovo will be on display until January 8, 2023 at Triennale Milano.
Text by Aaryaa Joshi
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