The Salone returns to China with two stages in Shanghai and Hong Kong
At The Orbit, the Event is presenting a performative installation by the artist Matilde Cassani; in the spaces of the Arts Pavilion West Kowloon an exhibition devoted to the 25th anniversary of the SaloneSatellite
After New York, in the spaces of Bloomingdale’s, where an exhibition project curated by architect and designer Ferruccio Laviani was staged to pay homage to Made in Italy, the Salone del Mobile.Milano is returning to China. The metropolises of Shanghai and Hong Kong will be hosting two events that testify to the importance of the Asian market for the Italian furniture and design macro-system, underscoring the value of dialogue between different cultures and visions of design. China is a strategic market: it ranks eighth in the top 25 export destinations for the wood-furniture supply chain, offering interesting business opportunities for Made in Italy. In fact, Italy is confirmed as the leading exporter of furniture to China, with a value of 479.01 million euros.
In Shanghai, a performative installation by the artist Matilde Cassani
From 8 to 10 November, the Salone del Mobile.Milano will stage its second major international event in the Land of the Dragon, in conjunction with the West Bund Art & Design, of which it is Partner for the occasion. The Event, accompanied by the ITA – Italian Trade Agency, is presenting a special display hosted in the futuristic The Orbit designed by architect Thomas Heatherwick, combining design, art and culture in an immersive experience with a strong scenic and emotional impact. “The Orbit’s Orbit: a performative installation dedicated to Italian design by the artist Matilde Cassani” is brought to life by recurring performances, inviting visitors to join in personally by interacting with the installation.
The work of Matilde Cassani, who with her studio moves in an area on the border between architecture, installations and event design, presents concentric spirals inhabited by iconic products embodying the excellence of Italian design, so creating an organic and evolving architecture. The exhibition area evokes a radial city that hosts an urban festival, enlivened not only by the spatial mobility of the citizen-spectators, but above all by an ideal and cultural mobility. The performers, by walking in a single direction, transform design spaces into inhabited interiors. The Orbit, with its shape and significance, inspires Cassani’s project, making the space a repository of meaning enriched by the furnishings of over 36 exhibiting brands, dancers and visitors.
In the words of Matilde Cassani: “The shape of The Orbit building underlies a ritual dimension that we wanted to bring out, using its spaces as the setting for an orbiting performance, where the interaction between visitors and the setting becomes an integral part of the experience itself.” And she concludes: “I see an exhibition as an encounter with the public, so the project is fulfilled with the arrival of the visitors. In this exhibition, the public and objects share the role of protagonists of the performance, dialoguing in a perfect balance.”
The companies involved: Antonio Lupi, Artemide, Barovier&Toso, B&B Italia, Baxter, Caccaro, Davide Groppi, Desalto, Edra, Ethimo, Flexform, Flos, Flou, Frigerio, Gessi, Glas Italia, Kartell, Living Divani, Martinelli Luce, Mattiazzi, Meridiani, Molteni&C, Nardi, Pinetti, Poliform, Porada, Porro, Riva 1920, Rugiano, Saba Italia, Scavolini, Tacchini Italia, Technogym, Turri, Villari, Visionnaire.
“With this second international visit to China, the Salone del Mobile.Milano aims to preside over and stimulate a market that seems to be struggling, even though its high end is very lively and extremely attractive for Made in Italy,” comments Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. As a trade fair, another important objective we have set ourselves is to support the exhibiting companies in seizing new opportunities in the processes of growth, development and distribution in this region. Yet, at the same time, we want to strengthen our leadership of thought and vision, which today goes beyond the boundaries of traditional design, embracing the interaction between culture and project, architecture and art. This great and striking performative event, arising from our wonderful encounter with Matilde Cassani, is intended to become a laboratory for exchanges between Italy and China, with Italian design engaging in a dialogue with Oriental culture and tradition. A tangible sign of the Salone’s commitment to creating interdisciplinary and cultural connections that expand the languages of design and open up new paths for contemporary creativity.”
Augusto di Giacinto, Director of the ITA – Italian Trade Agency’s Shanghai Office, observed: “Despite the new challenges in the Chinese interior design sector, in 2023 Italy was the main exporter to China in the furniture sector. This is clear proof of the Chinese public’s appreciation for Italian design and its recognition as a true global excellence. It is for this reason that the Salone del Mobile.Milano, with the support of the ITA – Italian Trade Agency, will be present in Shanghai, on the occasion of the West Bund Art & Design with ‘The Orbit’s Orbit: a performative installation devoted to Italian design by the artist Matilde Cassani’, a program of talks and performances.”
The experience of the visit, offered to the public from 12 noon to 6 p.m., is enriched by a series of meetings and debates, with the aim of stimulating discussion and offering opportunities to get to know the great masters of design and the new promises of the sector. The program of talks and events opens on Friday 8 November. The installation is the scene of the official opening talk of the West Bund Art & Design Shanghai, at which Maria Porro, President of Salone.Milano, will speak. On Saturday 9 November it will be the turn of the conversation and ceremony of ADChina 100Young, which offers a rich and many-sided look at the Chinese panorama of young design. The guests are Maria Porro, a member of the jury that identified the 100 budding talents, and Marva Griffin Wilshire, curator and founder of the SaloneSatellite. On Sunday, 10 November the featured even will be “When Design Meets Art. A Conversation between Italy and China”, curated by Annalisa Rosso, Editorial Director & Cultural Events Advisor of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The talk will be devoted to the dialogue between art and design as the spark to reveal new paths for creativity and innovation. Architect and designer Wu Bin and Feng Cao, Founder of 20 Gallery, Collector, Aesthetic Communicator, will exchange ideas on stage together with the artist Matilde Cassani. The moderator will be the journalist Wang Xu.
The Permamente Collection of the SaloneSatellite arrives in Hong Kong
From 11 to 21 November, at the end of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of SaloneSatellite, part of the Event’s precious Permanent Collection will arrive in Hong Kong and create the “SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998-2024 Exhibition”. It will be hosted in the spaces of the Arts Pavilion West Kowloon in Hong Kong, located in the prestigious exhibition center of the West Kowloon Cultural District, built around the M+ Pavilion designed by Herzog & de Meuron.
The exhibition, organized at the request of IDFFHK International Design Furniture Fair Hong Kong and Designworks Foundation, will focus on 100 pieces out of the more than 360 kept at the Artwood Academy - Polo Formativo del Legno Arredo Fondazione ITS Rosario Messina at Lentate sul Seveso. The curator is Marva Griffin Wilshire, Founder and Curator of the SaloneSatellite and Ambassador of International Relations of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, with her team, and the architect Ricardo Bello Dias, who also designed the installation and graphics, as well being as the artistic soul of all the installations of the SaloneSatellite ever since the first edition, with the support of Hariadna Pinate, an architect with Studio Bello Dias.
“Bringing a part of the SaloneSatellite’s Permanent Collection to Hong Kong is not only an opportunity to raise awareness of the work of many talented young designers, but also a chance to celebrate global creativity and the importance of innovation in design. It is an occasions for cultural exchanges that brings out the fundamental role of the SaloneSatellite in enhancing and supporting the new leading figures in international design, and the finest way to end a year of celebrations for its 25th anniversary,” comments Marva Griffin Wilshire.