Triennale Milano Highlights Gae Aulenti’s Creative Universe
For many Milanese, even those less familiar with the world of volumes, spaces, and surfaces, her name is well-known, for it is associated with one of the city’s most famous squares. But Gae Aulenti was one of the giants of architecture, capable of signing iconic projects such as the Musée d’Orsay, transformed from a former railway station into an exhibition space, or the Pipistrello lamp, produced by Martinelli Luce and originally designed as site-specific furniture for Olivetti’s Paris store. Now, Triennale Milano is dedicating a comprehensive retrospective to her, curated by Giovanni Agosti with Nina Artioli and Nina Bassoli, revealing her unique way of seeing, imagining, and designing reality. The exhibition covers over sixty years of her career, during which the multifaceted designer explored fields such as urban-scale design, exhibition design, landscape architecture, interior design, furniture design, graphics, and even theatrical scenography. The exhibition was inaugurated the other night in the presence of many prominent figures from the world of art and culture. Among them were Stefano Boeri, President of Triennale Milano, and Carla Morogallo, General Director of Triennale Milano, as well as Francesco Vezzoli, Marco Sammicheli, Rossana Orlandi, Antonia Jannone, Yuri Ancarani, Francesco Mandelli, and Luisa Bertoldo. They all toured the intriguing installation designed by Tspoon, consisting of 1:1 scale environments and original materials kept in the Milanese archive of the great architect, including drawings, photos, and models. In short, until January 12th, a significant portion of Gae’s universe will be preserved here.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photos: Andrea Sgambelluri and Alessio Ammannati
