Concept
101 years after the birth of one of the founders of ADI, the “100+1. Alberto Rosselli x Saporiti Italia” exhibition presents a reflection on the work of an extraordinarily important figure, the Association’s first president, recipient of the Compasso d’Oro Career Award in 1987 and an intellectual who was among the most active promoters of innovation in Italian design.
The itinerary created for visitors to the museum, curated by Federica Sala and with a display set-up by Marti Guixé, highlights the contribution made by Rosselli the designer and architect in the context of the ideas and those businesses that first experimented with modernity and internationalization in Italian design. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Centro Studi e Ricerche Sergio Saporiti (Sergio Saporiti Study and Research Centre) and the Alberto Rosselli Archive, directed by Paolo Rosselli.
Commenting on Rosselli, ADI President Luciano Galimberti says “It is important to underline the continuity of his commitment in defining a general design culture. This means exchanges of information and the enhancement of technical knowledge but above all interpersonal exchanges, relationships between professionals and between professionals and businesses: the constant belief that good ideas come from dialogue.”
Rosselli was Art Director of Saporiti Italia from 1966 to 1976: the story of this lengthy journey opens with a 15-metre long installation featuring the Dune modular sofa and offering the public an immersive experience thanks to the projections of historical documents about the work of Rosselli and Saporiti on a series of LED walls.
Also on display are some of the most significant objects designed by Rosselli and many original drawings, images and films as part of a dialogue in line with the climate of the time. These range from the film “007 The spy who loved me”, to the science fiction television series “Space:1999 ” in both of which works by Rosselli appear. The visitor’s appreciation of the exhibition is supported through films, drawings and archive images starting with the living module from the Casa Mobile created for the famous “Italy: the New Domestic Landscape” exhibition curated by Emilio Ambasz in 1972 for MoMA.
The central focus of the exhibition takes the form of 100 Jumbo armchairs, originally made by Saporiti Italia and reinterpreted in basalt fibre, an ecological and recyclable material, by ten international architectural firms. These include Massimiliano & Doriana Fuksas, Marti Guixé, Toshiyuki Kita, Mauro Lipparini, Park Associati, Portman Architects, SITE James Wines, storagemilano, S20M Antonio Ventimiglia and Carlos Zapata. These reinterpretations are joined by a rare original Moby Dick chaise longue.
