Castiglioni’s Design Exhibit – Pordenone

The Castiglioni design

Research \ Experimentation \ Method

Pordenone \ Galleria Harry Bertoia \ 25.01.2019 > 17.03.2019

The exhibition The design of the Castiglioni. Method experimentation research, promoted by Unindustria Pordenone in collaboration with the Achille Castiglioni Foundation and the Municipality of Pordenone, is part of the initiatives for the centenary of the birth of Achille Castiglioni.
The exhibition embraces, for the first time with a single glance, the creative activity of the three Castiglioni brothers, Livio (1911-1979), Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) and Achille (1918-2002), highlighting their very close correspondence operational and cultural and the collaborative ability that has made their work unique in the panorama of Italian design. With the help of archival materials conserved at the Achille Castiglioni Foundation in Milan, the exhibition presents the Castiglioni’s prolific design activity in Pordenone, in the spaces of the Harry Bertoia Gallery, through drawings, prototypes and objects (made over more than half century, from 1940 to 2000) highlighting their pioneering role in building the identity of Italian design and the profession of designer. The initiative stems from the desire of the Achille Castiglioni Foundation and Unindustria Pordenone to share the potential still active in the Castiglioni method, highlighting that collaborative relationship with companies that has generated new directions to be taken in the field of production and communication of the industrial object . The subtitle – research, experimentation and method – aims to highlight the possibility of reactivating the value and relevance of the Castiglioni’s way of conceiving the aesthetic quality, functionality and way of using products (many of which are still in production), indicating how their work is still today rich in teachings for the new generations and full of interest for the public.
The Achille Castiglioni Foundation joins in this initiative with the Studio of the architect Piero Castiglioni, which preserves Livio’s archive materials and with the Studio of the architect Giorgina Castiglioni, custodian of the historical memory of Pier Giacomo.

The exhibition itinerary will introduce visitors to the discovery of the beginnings of the Castiglioni designers with the projects for the innovative radios Phonola (1940s) and then Brionvega (1960s), it will pause to illustrate the importance of some exhibitions from which the Castiglioni derive the conception of new objects, will explore the world of light and illumination with projects for the famous lamps created starting from the early 60s, comparing them with the parallel lighting and electro-acoustic experiments of Livio.
The innovative approach to new domestic technologies will be compared with the passion and research into “anonymous” design, with the tamed functionality and irony of the design of furnishings and objects for the home. An in-depth study will be dedicated to the relationship of the Castiglioni with Italian design entrepreneurs such as Dino Gavina, the Brion spouses, Aurelio Zanotta, Sergio Gandini, Alberto Alessi and other significant figures.

The exhibition, curated by Dario Scodeller, design historian, in collaboration with the Achille Castiglioni Foundation and designed by Marco Marzini, with graphic design by Sebastiano Girardi Studio, will be accompanied by the publication of a volume published by Corraini full of insights and illustrative materials.
In the idea of ​​Unindustria Pordenone, the exhibition is also proposed as the point of reference for a series of cultural initiatives linked to the role of design for innovation, which will involve the city and its territory during the months of the exhibition.