Funny Things 1978/1984 | February 2023

2023 opens with the exhibition of strange and colorful objects made between 1978 and 1984. 1984 is an important year for Italian design, because many contributions have been published to take stock of the past season and the beginning, starting from the seventies, of the search for a new domesticity based on an emotional and playful bond between the subjects and the objects that surround them. Suffice it to recall Andrea Branzi’s ‘The hot house’, which was very important in reorganizing ideas and research trajectories. The works selected for the exhibition are part of the gallery’s wider collection relating to what is usually defined, rightly or not, postmodern design. Among these, some furnishings by Lapo Binazzi, including a coat stand, a bench, a trolley and lamps (including the ‘Doccia di rame al neon’ from 1978): all unique works for spaces designed by Lapo Binazzi in 1978, and created by himself. They are colorful, fun, full of ideas and emotions to communicate. Alongside these self-productions, the gallery exhibits Memphis furnishings from the early 1980s (such as the iconic ‘Brazil’ by Peter Shire from 1981), ceramics and lamps by Michele de Lucchi and Remo Buti, and other serially produced objects designed by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta and EAD, and by Paolo Deganello for Cassina. Everything is very expressive, marked by a research that takes shape through the combination of the most diverse colors and materials (from Abet laminates, to lacquered or painted woods and metals).