Concept
An exhibition on the multifaceted activity of Gianni Sassi – record producer, publisher, photographer, art director, advertiser, creator of international cultural events – an indispensable figure of Italian culture between the 1960s and 1990s.
Curated by Aldo Colonetti, organized by ADI Design Museum in collaboration with Fondazione Mudima, and staged by Studio Azzurro, the exhibition features hundreds of original materials, works of art, posters, magazines, books, films, records, documentaries, and installations, showcasing Sassi’s unparalleled ability to redefine the cultural boundaries of an era, break down traditional barriers between genres, and create unprecedented connections between disciplines. Through signs, words, images, and sounds, the exhibition aims to bring order to Sassi’s personal and collective adventure, historically contextualizing it and identifying the elements and inspirations that still stimulate reflections on the present.
Gianni Sassi was a central figure in Italy’s avant-garde cultural scene, a representative of a historical period characterized by intense creative and experimental ferment. A keen observer of Italy’s political and social tensions starting in the 1960s, Sassi tapped into and interpreted the desire for change and experimentation that motivated the younger generations, alongside whom some key figures of culture were always present from the beginning of his activities: Gino Di Maggio, Sergio Albergoni, Marco Maria Sigiani, artist Gianni Emilio Simonetti, and, of course, the legendary “Lucky Bar,” where, every evening, the group would gather to discuss and plan new initiatives.
Sassi’s experience was that of a “practical” intellectual, able to create a prolific system of relationships in the cultural organization field, which led to the development of important cultural events that made Milan an international cultural hub, such as the “Milano Poesia” festival, or innovative editorial projects like the magazines “Alfabeta,” “La Gola,” and “SE – scienza esperienza.”
With visionary intelligence, he helped build a vibrant cultural scene where music, understood as a universal language and a tool for bringing people together, became the beating heart of new forms of political expression. Sassi collaborated with world-renowned artists such as John Cage, Demetrio Stratos, Franco Battiato, and the Fluxus movement. He was the creator of the record label “Cramps,” a true avant-garde artistic laboratory capable of translating the socio-political tensions of the time into music. Active until 1980, the label produced artists such as Area, Eugenio Finardi, Skiantos, Alberto Camerini, and Claudio Rocchi.
Divided into five sections – graphics, food, art, music, Milan Poesia – the exhibition retraces Sassi’s cultural enterprise, highlighting his keen insights, irreverent provocations, and bold media short circuits that generated new languages and unprecedented communication tools.
