ART-HOUSE
The Salone del Mobile in Milan
by Nina Ondine
 Milan, capital of fashion and design, once again experienced grid-locked traffic on for the 40th edition of the Salone del Mobile. From April 2 to 9, over 3’000 journalists covered the event that over 165’000 visitors from 144 countries attended. In the four decades since 1961, when it first opened its doors, the Salone del Mobile has established itself as the world’s most important trade fair of its kind — often acting as launch-pad for leading designers such as Mendini and Starck.
This year’s six day event encompassed about 30 extra exhibitions beyond the boundaries of the show grounds. The interwoven happenings scattered throughout the city’s galleries and venues, livened the rich tapestry of the Salone imbuing the city with an arts festival atmosphere. This year’s themes and installations in fact, mirrored those we recognize in applied art — where visitors and display interact.
With its usual attendance of famous guests, the Salone del Mobile was a fashionable affair, underlined by a distinctive Milanese cult of fashion itself. For it is true that the boundaries between design and fashion have blurred, in the same way that design is now considered the most influential of contemporary art forms. So it comes as no surprise that the fashion house Prada exhibited works in progress by architects Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas.
On the fringes, some exciting events took place. Here, the presence of new tendencies made itself felt amongst a motley crew of pop technoculture, adding a refreshing subversive ingredient to the fair. A common theme was the search for a new aesthetic idiom. Some of the most notable shows included: the new industrial design products on display at the Cappellini showroom, and the multi sensory experience by Sputnik. The group acts as a container where space, furniture, art, video and audio merge and interact with the human element.
Also worthy of interest was the presence of two lifestyle magazines: Surface and Wallpaper. The first presented an exhibition of ten American designers and an installation by astro-designer Karim Rashid. His work consists of an environment that is a fusion between digital and lounge, enhanced by ambient elements, futuristic/retro and rounded shapes. Wallpaper presented a project entitled: Urban Addition, or the construction of a new home concept for the urban environment.
The most memorable emerging trend was undoubtedly neo-pop. A tendency that celebrates the return of color, plastic and curves. Prints especially, echoed the palettes of pop artists Rauschenberg and Warhol. Even Alessi and Starck celebrated the new influence with shapes that express a 60s playfulness and objects that go beyond functional.
Amongst the mainstream events worthy of special mention are: Opos’ book launch for a collection of young designers; Driade’s latest work by Philippe Starck; Inflate’s Snoozy beds and the Triennale’s installations by Gae Aulenti and Gaetano Pesce.
For a virtual tour of the fair, go to the VRWAY Virtual Site Extention on the Abitare website www.abitare.it
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