Homage to Gae Aulenti

I am not a collector but I have collected through the years the things I found intriguing
Gae Aulenti

The Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli presents the exhibition HOMAGE TO GAE AULENTI, about the extraordinary life of one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century Italian architecture through a selection of her most significant works, closely connected to the places, moments and people she met.
As an architect, Gae Aulenti developed her professional path through design, architecture, museum and set design, building her career on a constant dialogue between the arts.
The exhibition – curated by Nina Artioli, Gae Aulenti’s granddaughter – marks the stages of her multifaceted cultural and professional path, starting from the place which best sheds light on her personality: her studio house in Milan, designed in 1974. A large space on two levels filled with books, objects, souvenirs from trips, prototypes, dedicated pictures, models, each and everyone a testimony in its own right of her numerous collaborations with artists, film directors, friends, and intellectuals.
Today this place so rich in memories is home to Archivio Gae Aulenti, whose aim is to preserve and promote the cultural heritage Gae Aulenti has left us.
The exhibition follows a thematic and narrative approach at the same time, and is developed through some rooms that give prominence to Gae Aulenti’s multifaceted professional figure, nonetheless offering the visitor a personal and intimate perspective on her life and work. Starting from ARCHIVIO GAE AULENTI, which has provided some unpublished material and pictures from personal collections, the visitor walks into the DESIGN room, where some of her most iconic design objects are shown, such as the lamps designed for Martinelli Luce, then continues to EXHIBITION DESIGN, with her designs for private patrons, such as the so-called ‘Collector’s House’ in Milan (1968), or for exhibitions like “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” at the MOMA in New York (1971). The THEATRE room includes her set designs for Luca Ronconi’s shows, whereas the MUSEUMS room focuses on her designs for Musée d’Orsay and Palazzo Grassi, among others; concluding with the ARCHITECTURE room, with her grand designs, such as those for the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and for the Cancelleria dell’Ambasciata Italiana in Tokyo (1998-2005), or the one for Piazzale Cadorna’s redevelopment in Milan (1998-2000).
The exhibition design is by Marco Palmieri; the exhibition catalogue is published by Corraini.

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