From 5 September to 1 November 2021
The Sozzani Foundation presents in Milan the exhibition “Nanda Vigo, close encounters. Art, Architecture, Design ”in collaboration with Archivio Nanda Vigo, Luca Preti and Glas Italia.
Effervescent and curious, Nanda Vigo (Milan, 1936 - 2020), was an architect, artist and designer, protagonist of the Milanese and European cultural climate of the 1960s and was above all capable of her own vision aimed at the future, almost spatial, even in the 2000s. Through art, architecture and design, the exhibition itinerary is a journey through space and time, where each work is environmental and is confronted with space, time and light. With rare out-of-production prototypes and unique pieces, the exhibition is divided into three sections dedicated to as many distinct but intertwined design areas:
The first section presents Nanda Vigo as a "teacher of light", with one of her best known works of art: "the Chronotopic Environment" of 1968. As in the environments that Vigo had created with Lucio Fontana between 1964 and 1968, the Chronotopic Environment, bright and transparent, represents the immersive idea of light as a journey. A metal structure where sheets of transparent industrial glass are inserted, crossed by the light which is the unifying element of time (chrono) and space (topical). “What am I inspired by? To the light. Light is crucial for shapes, for objects, for a total setting. Light goes and has no dimension, and one can travel very far ... " 1
The second focuses on architecture, through some historical pieces.
His collaboration with Gio Ponti was very early, with whom he created the project of the “Scarabeo sotto la Foglia” in Malo (Vicenza, 1958 to 1968), a house where the nuptial bed is at the center like a primeval room of the “GENESIS”. Emblematic is the first of his immersive architectures, the "ZERO House" in Milan (1959-1962), a house of light with frosted glass walls inside which a system of neon lights of different colors alter the perception of space, such as in the projects of the Blue House (Milan, 1967-71), Gialla (Milan, 1970-1971) and Nera (Milan, 1970).
The third section reflects the complexity of Nanda Vigo's research as a designer: from the famous mirrors, to the “due più” chairs (1971) with their surprising furs that transform a chair into the command chair of an intergalactic spacecraft. The path is completed by the play of light, the historic Golden Gate lamp up to the Hard & Soft collection, the last complete collection created for an immersive environment in 2019. Reflecting on his career, Vigo said: “I followed the vision of the great Gio Ponti; ; he approached spaces in a global way, from spoons to art. I have always seen architecture, design and art together as one in my projects ".
Corso Como, 10, Milan, Italy
Opening hours
opens - closes | last entry | |
monday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
tuesday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
wednesday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
thursday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
friday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
saturday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
sunday | 10:00 - 19:30 | 19:00 |
Free entry