Design Gallery Milano’s Icons and Material Medley
A Temple to Radical Design
Since the 1980s, Design Gallery Milano has been on a mission: to support the design vanguard. Working with designers intent upon disrupting the commerce-driven underpinnings of industrial design—the architects of postmodernism and masters of material experimentation, like Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, and Michele De Lucchi—it was one of the first galleries in the world to treat design production as a fine art and to develop limited edition design collections.
Design Gallery Milano is still going strong. The gallery’s presentation Icons during last week’s Salone was like a greatest-hits tribute to their three-decades-long quest for new design frontiers. And the dialogue between these now-classic pieces and the new work by Madrid-born, London-based studio El Ultimo Grito—entitled Material Medley—proves that design provocation and subversion are alive and well in the post-post-postmodern era.
Icons at Design Gallery Milano
Michele De Lucchi's Montefeltro
El Ultimo Grito's Material Medley Collection
El Ultimo Grito's Material Medley Collection
*All photos courtesy of Design Gallery Milano.
More to Love
Sole Wall Clock by Alessandro Mendini for Alessi
Papilio Table by Alessandro Mendini for Zanotta, 1980s
Il Piede Chair by Gaetano Pesce for B&B, 1970s
Vintage Cognac Leather Dining Chair by Andrea Branzi for Zanotta
Alex Chaise Longue by Alessandro Mendini for ecopixel
Vintage Armchair by Gaetano Pesce
Chest of Drawers by Mendini & Calamobio for Zanotta, 1985
Blue Alex Chaise Longue by Alessandro Mendini for ecopixel
Multicoloured Nesting Tables by Gaetano Pesce, 2007
Vintage Resin Vase by Gaetano Pesce
Olly Tango Chairs by Philippe Starck for Driade, 1990s, Set of 8
Olly Tango Chair by Philippe Starck for Driade, 1990s
Mid-Century Sculpture by Gaetano Pesce for Cassina, 1960s
Victoria and Albert Chair by Ron Arad for Moroso, 2000s
Candeliere 4 Candle Stick Holder by Michele de Lucchi for Produzione Privata, 1996
UP Armchair and Ottoman by Gaetano Pesce for B&B, 1969
Deriva Copper Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Louis XXI Porcelaine Humaine by Andrea Branzi
Vintage Chair by Michele de Lucchi for Memphis Milano
Calcutta Coffee Table by Michele de Lucchi for Up&Up, 1990s
Neolia Screen by Andrea Branzi for Zanotta Edizione, 1989
I SOLI' Glass Table by Alessandro Mendini for Alchimia
Grand Floorlamp by Michele de Lucchi for Memphis, 1983
Deriva Pearl Violet Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Tramonto a New York Sofa by Gaetano Pesce for Cassina, 1979
Side Table by Gaetano Pesce for Meritalia
Vintage Niccola Chair by Andrea Branzi for Zanotta
Sabrina Chair by Alessandro Mendini for Driade, 1982
Kristal Side Table by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis, 1981
Polar Side Table by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis, 1984
Little Albert Lounge Chair by Ron Arad for Moroso
Deriva Proust Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Deriva Fluorescent Orange Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
San Leonardo Lounge Chairs with Ottomans by Alessandro Mendini for Matteo Grassi, 1980s
Lamp by Alessandro Mendini for Slamp, 2003
Colorful Wooden Dresser by Alessandro Mendini for Zanotta, 1980s
First Chair by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano, 1990s, Set of 2
Deriva Decoration 1 Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Umbrella Chair by Gaetano Pesce for Zerodisegno, 1995
Tramonto a New York Sofa by Gaetano Pesce for Cassina, 1979
Nubola Couch by Gaetano Pesce for Meritalia
Cubosfera Table Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Deriva Decoration 3 Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
Deriva Decoration 2 Hanging Lamp by Alessandro Mendini
