Staging contemporary furniture, lighting and accessories in Museo Bagatti Valsecchi’s armour-clad halls, Rosanna Orlandi took Fourisalone by storm this year. As her second showcase in this dramatic setting, the Milanese gallerist – known as the mother rather than queen of limited edition design – sought out to juxtapose modern works with old world classics. Providing enough space for each piece or installation to breathe, the exhibition was a far cry from her own multi-level gallery on the other side of town – a maze of convoluted rooms and courtyards brimming with designer and brand displays, equally abuzz during the week-long event.

Climbing up an imperial flight of stairs, visitors were greeted by the latest iterations of Wonmin Park’s Haze Series – multi-coloured planes combined into geometric furnishings, exploring monumentality but also the visceral quality of semi-translucent surfaces. Further on, in what appeared to be the museum’s central ballroom, Jacopo Foggini’s textured Brilli chandeliers hung on an impressive rigging – presenting these oversized oveurs on eye-level. In back bedroom chamber, a luggage-inspired murphy bed by Nika Zupanc played a visual game with its canopied predecessor already in place.  The exhibition also featured work by Jamie Hayon, Maarten Baas, Formafantasma, Os & Oss, Gaetano Pesce, Nacho Carbonell and James Plumb.

Adrian Madlener

museo bagatti valsecchi

www.rossanaorlandi.com

Adrian Madlener, a recent graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven, is a designer turned journalist. Originally from Belgium, he grew up in New York where an early interest in architecture exposed him to a wide range of creative disciplines; everything from contemporary dance to fine art, and eventually design. During his studies in Eindhoven, Adrian discovered that his true calling lays within design theory, history, and criticism. Though writing is his best design tool, he still gains great satisfaction from sketching, modeling, and experimenting with material. The critic should create to critique.

www.adrianmadlener.com