“Mario Bellini. Italian Beauty” is the title of the Triennale di Milano’s exhibition devoted to the career of the world-famous Milanese architect, in an all-encompassing journey through nearly sixty years of design, architecture, exhibition design and much more. The retrospective opens thirty years after the one dedicated to Bellini by the MoMA in New York in 1987, which, however, only covered his activity as a designer. It was indeed in that same year, 1987, that Bellini shifted the main focus of his work towards architecture and urban design.
And so this exhibition is an homage to the multifaceted career of an Italian designer who has achieved resounding success working on a small scale (eight Compasso d’oro awards, furniture and product designs that have become icons, often anticipating or revolutionizing taste and styles), but also on a large scale (conference and exhibition centers and museums all over the world and, in 2012, the Department of Islamic Arts for the Louvre in the shape of a golden wave).
The Triennale’s exploration of Bellini’s work also seeks to bring back to the center of debate the subversive and salvific role of “beauty” and the unique capacity of Italian culture to be its interpreter and champion in the world.
Milan, Triennale, January - March 2017
Contents
Mario Bellini. Italian Beauty
Preface
Germano Celant
A Portrait of Mario Bellini
Francesco Moschini
Mario Bellini: Case Study
Deyan Sudjic
The Architecture of Beauty
Ermanno Ranzani
Design as Experimentation
Marco Sammicheli
The Image as Design
Francesco Maggiore, Martina Motta
Without Words
From Objet Type to Mise en Scène
Kenneth Frampton
Design as a Cultural Act
Enrico Morteo
Form as Process
Franco Purini
The “Horizontal” Time of Mario Bellini
Lorenzo Pietropaolo
The Art of Building
Gaetano Pesce
In Search of Beauty
Francesco Binfaré
The Fast Traveler
Gabriele Basilico
Kodak Moments
Mario Calabresi
On the Road with Mario
Marco Romano
The (Extraordinary) Adventure of Domus
Italo Lupi
Design as a Platonic Idea
Arturo Carlo Quintavalle
The “Magic” Collector
Vittorio Sgarbi
Seven Questions in Search of Answers
Mario Bellini
Notes for the Design of an Alphabet Primer
Mario Bellini
Annexes
Chronogical List of Works on Display
Biography
Architect
