From 3 March to 29 September 2023, the Molteni Museum presents “Officina Mangiarotti @Molteni Museum”; an in-depth study, curated by Fulvio Irace with installation design by Ron Gilad, dedicated to the relationship between Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012) and the Molteni Group: a strong, long-standing bond that masterfully spans architecture, design and sculpture.
The exhibition materials are subdivided based on the characterising themes of the exhibition. The synergy between the famous architect and the Molteni Group is retraced through a targeted selection of documents, historical catalogues, posters, photographs, prototypes and drawings from the Molteni Archive and the UniFor Archive.
The design section features the 4D unit (Casaluci 1966 - Molteni&C 1969) and the Out-Inside joint system (UniFor 2003-2005). The 4D system, which had immediately drawn Angelo Molteni's interest, has in fact been included in the Molteni&C catalogue since the
1970s. In this case, Mangiarotti designs a series of finished, modular, assemblable and interchangeable furniture, characterised by vertical details that are both functional, for movement, and aesthetically pleasing.
In the architecture section, the protagonist is the UniFor factory, built between 1971 and 1985. A timeline traces the stages of its construction up to the installation of the Divenire sculpture in the 2000s: an iconic landmark and at the same time a welcome sign for anyone visiting the Turare site.
When this in-depth study opens, the physical collection of the Molteni Museum will also be enriched, until the end of September, as it welcomes the prototype of a bookcase made with the Out-Inside joint system designed for UniFor. It will also host, for the first time, a table, with a sculptural bronze base and glass top, designed as a one-off piece by Angelo Mangiarotti for the Molteni family and a 4D module with a vertical moulding
The video 'An Angel over Milan: Mangiarotti and the City', edited by Fulvio Irace, directed by Francesca Molteni and produced by Muse Factory of Projects, will complete the layout. A short narrative piece in which photographs taken today by Filippo Romano, archive materials and interviews will present a summary of Mangiarotti's technical and artistic contribution. The short film, featuring the architect's speeches, re-proposes, in a series of themes, the exploration of variable elevations in apartment buildings, the stations of the railway link, the 'prototype' factories, figurativeness and experiments on matter, which characterise Mangiarotti's long-standing career.
