‘Super Design‘, the exhibition on show at the Italian Institute of Culture in Toronto until May 2, presented by R & Company and Design Exchange and curated by freelance journalist and independent design curator Maria Cristina Didero, is entirely dedicated to the Radical period of the Italian Architecture that took place between 1965 and 1975.
The exhibition has been over a decade in the making and has come together through extensive research, passionate collecting and interview with the protagonists of what is considered the golden age for the Made in Italy design, and which reached its highest expression with the ‘Superarchitettura’ exhibition in Pistoia in 1966.
The value of this event is in having put together some iconic pieces such as ‘Pratone’ by Ceretti-Derossi-Rosso, ‘Fiore Artificiale’ by Gino Marotta, and ‘Capitello’ by Studio65, but also rare original posters and drawings, as well as interior photographs of nightclubs, private houses and restaurants designed by the Radicals in the 60s and 70s. Bold and visionary, the Radicals have been standard-bearers of a style and of the idea of breaking with the archetypes that had preceded them, they sought new solutions and challenged preset models by drawing on a rich and varied universe, ranging from pop art to new artistic avant-garde.
‘SuperDesign’ is accompanied by an extensive book published by The Monacelli Press, written by Didero, with an introduction by R & Company principal Evan Snyderman and contributions from Deyan Sudjic and Catharine Rossi.
Ilona Catani Scarlett