Architect, theorist, designer and critic: Aldo Rossi (1931 to 1997) is one of those who advanced architectural discourse in the second half of the 20th century. Rossi, who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1990 and the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Architecture in 1991, is also known as a designer and artist for works such as the “Teatro del Mondo” presented at the Venice Biennale in 1979, the monument to Sandro Pertini, for paintings and graphics related to his design work.
From 29 April to 2 October, the Museo del Novecento in Milan’s Piazza Duomo presents Aldo Rossi. Design 1960-1997, curated by Chiara Spangaro in collaboration with the Fondazione Aldo Rossi and Silvana Editoriale. The exhibition is part of the museum’s ongoing project on interdisciplinary dialogue between the arts. On display are more than 350 pieces of furniture and everyday objects, prototypes and models, paintings, drawings and studies designed by Aldo Rossi over more than thirty years. It begins in 1960 with furniture he designed together with the architect Leonardo Ferrari. From 1979, Rossi turned to both industrial production and craftsmanship, designing furniture and consumer goods, first for Alessi, then for Artemide, DesignTex, Bruno Longoni Atelier d’arredamento, Molteni&C/UniFor, Richard-Ginori, Rosenthal and Up&Up. More than 70 pieces of furniture and objects were created, many of which are still produced today. Rossi liked to experiment with metal and wood, marble and stone, ceramics and porcelain.
The exhibition, whose layout was designed by Morris Adjmi, an assistant and later collaborator of Rossi in New York, is divided into nine rooms, each of which establishes a specific relationship between graphic designs, handcrafted or industrial products and references to architecture. In conjunction with the exhibition, a complete catalogue of Rossi’s design works is to be published, which for the first time will include all prototypes, finished objects, previously unpublished works and out-of-print works.
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