Three design exhibitions, between attention to environmental issues and resilience

"In water in design: sete di conoscenza sete di sopravvivenza" ("In water in design: thirst for knowledge thirst for survival"): the evocative title of the exhibition dedicated to the works of designer and architect Roberto Marcatti presented as part of the tenth edition of Altare Vetro Design at the Art Glass Museum of Altare, in Italy.
The exhibition presents to the public a vast selection of objects designed by the Milanese architect Roberto Marcatti, starting from the 1980s and up to his most recent works, which see him actively engaged in the environmental sustainability landscape. Since 2005, Roberto Marcatti has been carrying out the H2O project in close collaboration with Cintya Concari, which uses the language of design to raise awareness of the issue of saving and conserving water, a resource indispensable to life on our planet. The series of prototypes designed for AVD2021 is linked precisely to this experience, jugs and glasses to contain, serve and drink water, made by the French master glassmaker Jean-Marie Bertaina at the Villa Rosa furnace, home of the Altare museum.

The Success Stories exhibition, on the other hand, dedicated to 10 Italian outstanding representatives, will be on until March 16, 2022 in the Italian Pavilion at the Expo Dubai 2020 and presented by the National Confederation of Crafts. Among the works on display are those created by artist and ecosocial designer Luca Gnizio.
The "ecosocial designer" is a new professional figure, today recognised at an international level, but created by Luca Gnizio almost 10 years ago. His artistic-technical training as an industrial designer, combined with a marked sensitivity to environmental issues, have inspired Luca Gnizio to imagine and develop his profession as a designer in a rather particular field, aimed at ecological and social help and inspired by the principle of "the three Rs": Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. A continuous research that transforms industrial production waste into resources and into new opportunities for social dialogue between businesses and associations in the area.

Finally, AQUÍ ESTAMOS / (HERE WE ARE), is a large-scale sculpture exhibition that marks Japanese-Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura’s return to Spain. Six giant sculptures that float in water in front of the architectures of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències in Valencia, engaged in an intimate dialogue with the great “eye” of the Hemisfèric, the planetarium designed by Santiago Calatrava. The sculptures are fantastic figures crafted from bronze, which draw on the imaginary world of artist Leiko Ikemura exuding a sense of resilience. Four – those representing girls – present themselves in a reclined position, as if they were diving into the pool, giving life to a new shape that seems to evoke a flower. An ideal water lily that blends into the surrounding landscape, illustrating the artist’s intense work in building a relationship with the architectural complex of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, in search of a close symbiosis between art and architecture.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of Artists
01, 17-25
Leiko Ikemura AQUÍ ESTAMOS-HERE WE ARE © Leiko Ikemura & VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021 photo by Maria Mira (01, 17-24), Philipp von Matt (25)
02-09
Roberto Marcatti
10-16
Luca Gnizio, photo by Lorenzo Bacci (15), Fabio Patrassi (11-14).

Exhibition: Altare Vetro Design "In water in design: sete di conoscenza sete di sopravvivenza"
Artist / Architect: Roberto Marcatti
Location: Museo dell'Arte Vetraria Altarese Piazza Consolato 4 - 17041 Altare (SV) Italy
www.museodelvetro.org
Dates: 16th October — 5th December, 2021

Exhibition: Success Stories
Artist / Ecosocial Designer Luca Gnizio
Location: Italian Pavilion, Expo Dubai 2020
Dates: 01st October 2021 - 16th March 2022

Exhibition: Leiko Ikemura. AQUÍ ESTAMOS / (HERE WE ARE)
Artist: Leiko Ikemura.
Location: La Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe - Av. del Professor López Piñero 7, València (Spain)
Dates: 30 September, 2021 — 6 March, 2022

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