EXHIBITION REVIEW: R & COMPANY – SUPERDESIGN
The SuperDesign exhibit is a fun, kitschy studio gallery, albeit small and cozy, there were a variety of works that included prominent designers of this movement: Archizoom Associati, Gaetano Pesce, Superstudio, Gruppo Strum, and among others. The objects curated ranged from vibrant furniture to delicately framed collages. There was a cumbersome sofa; the Safari sofa by Archizoom, which took up the main space of the ground floor of the gallery, it had an awful cheetah print pattern and just looked seedy and tacky. Also, there were a lot of pieces that were random and took up more space than needed that somehow defeated the utilitarian purpose of the sole product, such as the Pratone Lounge Chair by Pietro Derossi, Giorgio Ceretti, Ricardo Rosso. I didn’t see the practicality in that object being a lounge chair–as subjective as that sounds, the thought of sitting on a wad of foamed stems sound rather odd. I generally enjoy the Memphis Design period and radical design however the SuperDesign gallery definitely surprised me and evoked such awe yet confusion within the curated objects. Despite some reproachful feelings, there were many objects that I enjoyed and were reminiscent of the Ettore Sottsass exhibit I went to. I particularly thought the Cactus Coat Rack by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello was a creative piece–cultivating the idea of domesticating nature. Also, the MGM Lamp, painted a soft pastel pink, by Lapo Binazzi of UFO was such a fresh and fun take on a traditional study lamp. When I look at that lamp in retrospect to the Tiffany Lamp, it’s interesting to see the evolution of design and different design takes from these artists/designers. These objects evoked such delectation in me and my friends alike, that I overall enjoyed the exhibit. I felt like it accurately represented the gusto and cultural zeitgeist of that style.