outfitting of the “A la Castiglioni” art center
Santa Monica Barcelona (March) pizzale Italia salone del mobile Milan Fair (April 1996) Bergamo contemgalleria d’arte moderna e contemporane (luglio 1996) Vitra Design Museum Weil am Rein (gennaio 1997) Living Design Center Ozone Tokyo (marzo 1998) Niitsu Museum of Art , Niitsu (giugno 1998) De Beyerd Museum Breda (ottobre 1998) ( con Hikaru Mori – Tokyo e Niitsu)

In 1995 the Catalan capital paid tribute to Achille Castiglioni with the second Barcelone Disseny award, and opens the first stage of the travelling exhibition A la Castiglioni at Centre d’Art Santa Monica. As in previous occasions, it is Castiglioni who outfitted and organize himself. From the façade of the building, located at the end of Rambla, emerge a series of red signs, bearing the title of the exhibition while an unusual icon – a blow-up of Castiglioni’s eyes – was set over the entrance. Inside, in a compact gallery surrounding the central courtyard, Castiglioni presented an introductory series of designs, his own or those devised with his brother Pier Giacomo, utilizing a series of white fabric sheets (3m heigh), displayed full-size reproductions with the contour of the designed pieces (furnishings and objects). 11 Taraxacum ’88 – in different sizes – were ranged at staggered heights in the courtyard with its large U-shaped staircase, which led the visitor from the two-dimensional gallery of images to the ground floor, where the display was devoted to manufactured products. The courtyard ran the entire height of the building and was occupied by three small colored stages with the reconstruction of the interiors designed by the Castiglioni brothers over a span of 27 years, in three significant occasions dedicated to the contemporary living theme (Colors and forms of the contemporary house, Como 1957; La Casa Abitata. Strozzi Palace – Firenze 1965; Exhibition of Italian Design, Palazzo Sogetsu – Tokyo 1984). At the center, Hilly sofas are displayed and at the same time serve as a place to observe the remarkable interiors; continuing to the next lateral room, painted in blue, were displayed a giant luminous board (10m long) that presented a selection of domestic items (produced from 1954 to 1995), while to octagonal elements with triangular mirrored sections contained a selection of Castiglioni’s lamps at the extremities – the most fruitful research source for the designers.