Triennale di Milano

Copper Crossings
Copper Shapes in Contemporary Art, Design, Technology and Architecture

September 16–November 9, 2014

Curators: Antonella Soldaini and Elena Tettamanti

The concept of the exhibition is by Elena Tettamanti and is coproduced by Eight Art Project—a new company active in the production of projects in contemporary art and design—together with Triennale di Milano, Triennale Design Museum and Istituto Italiano del Rame with the patronage of the European Copper Institute.

Copper Crossings is the first exhibition looking at copper from a different angle thanks to an interdisciplinary approach represented through more than 250 pieces from contemporary art, design, architecture and technology. An outstanding scientific support is provided by Giampiero Bosoni, Ico Migliore and Francesca Olivini at Istituto Italiano del Rame together with a high-profile scientific committee consisting of Giampiero Bosoni, Maurizio Decina, Fiorenzo Galli, Ico Migliore and Vicente Todolí. The set-up and the graphic project are by studio Migliore + Servetto Architects.

The 30 works shown in the section devoted to contemporary art represent the most important post-war art movements up until the latest artistic trends. A selection of works of historical artists shall be presented like Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Carl Andre, Marco Bagnoli, Joseph Beuys, Luciano Fabro, Anselm Kiefer, Eliseo Mattiacci, Marisa Merz, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Remo Salvadori, Gilberto Zorio, Meg Webster. Also works of the “most contemporary” including Roni Horn, Cristina Iglesias, Damián Ortega as well as works of artists of last generations like Andrea Sala, Alicja Kwade and Danh Vo, to mention a few, shall be exhibited. Some of the pieces have not been shown to the public for quite some time, some others have been specifically created for the exhibition.

In the design section more than 100 objects made by some of the top names in the sector have been chosen: Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Antonio Citterio, Dimore Studio, Tom Dixon, Odoardo Fioravanti, Martí Guixé, Gujan Gupta, Poul Henningsen, Thomas Heatherwick, Ross Lovegrove, Nucleo, Gio Ponti/Paolo De Poli, Tobia Scarpa, Ettore Sottsass, Oskar Zieta and Giorgio Vigna, with some examples from renowned brands as Romeo Gigli and Prada, who have experimented with the qualities of copper in the most creative way.

Architecture is explored through ten scale models representing the work of some of the greatest architects such as Herzog & de Meuron, Renzo Piano, Aldo Rossi, Steven Holl Architects and James Stirling. A surprising section dedicated to technology featuring applications on IT, medical equipment, energy conduction and transportation completes the exhibition. Thanks to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, the section on technology will feature a number of objects and applications and will be set up permanently within the Museo after the show.

All the pieces in the show are on loan from the major museums, galleries and private collections in Italy and Europe, a fact indicative of the thorough research which constitutes the essence of Copper Crossings.