Buccellati debuts at the Milano Design Week with the exhibition “Galateo. A Journey into Conviviality”
The historic Italian jewellery Maison Buccellati will debut at the Salone del Mobile in Milan with the exhibition “Galateo. A Journey into Conviviality” dedicated to rediscovering the centrality of the table as a place of excellence where social relations can be practiced; a celebration of conviviality that puts values such as empathy, kindness and grace back at the centre.
Curated by Federica Sala, with a layout created by the studio Stefano Boeri Interiors, the exhibition begins with the wide range that Buccellati has always dedicated to the art de la table – showcasing a lesser-known side of the savoir-faire of the Milanese company, universally renowned for its fine jewellery creations – and develops as a tale in four acts, entrusted to as many leading figures on the international design scene: Dimorestudio, Ashley Hicks, Chahan Minassian and Patricia Urquiola. Each of them is called upon to reimagine “the table” through Buccellati’s historic silver collections (Caviar, Doge, Marina and Rouche, Tahiti) and porcelain from the “Double Rouche – Florence Furnace” collection, born out of the collaboration between Buccellati and Ginori 1735.
Although representatives of different styles and heterogeneous backgrounds, the designers selected by Buccellati and curator Federica Sala are united by being interpreters of an “international Milaneseness”, a concept in which the identity of the company is perfectly reflected. Similarly, the choice of Stefano Boeri Interiors to design the installation’s background has symbolic value because of the architect’s close connection with the city of Milan, which he has helped project into the future.
The exhibition, which draws from Giovanni Della Casa’s famous treatise Galateo (1558) and even more so from Baldassar Castiglione’s earlier Il libro del Cortegiano (1513-1514), is ultimately an invitation to renew the pleasure of receiving, of being together, of the beautiful and the well-done, as well as a reflection on good manners understood as a form of courtesy and respect toward others; and while revisiting the company’s heritage, it also combines it with contemporary lifestyles.
For the occasion, Buccellati will open the doors of its headquarters at 5 Via Brisa, a building designed by iconic Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi in 1919 – the year in which Mario Buccellati founded the company.
THE CITY ON THE TERRACE – Stefano Boeri Interiors The project for fitting out the exhibition “Galateo. A Journey into Conviviality” according to the design by the firm Stefano Boeri Interiors started with the idea to engage in dialogue with Milan and its symbols whilst also ruminating on its future development. The aim is to establish links among the urban cityscape, the Palazzo del Portaluppi which now hosts Buccellati’s HQ and the display area featuring works by Dimorestudio, Ashley Hicks, Chahan Minassian and Patricia Urquiola. The project seeks to create an immersive environment which, thanks to the deft and measured usage of reflective surfaces and broken shapes, is capable of reflecting the city from all possible angles. The set opens up new perspectives on the urban fabric and offers a flexible space capable of hosting a variety of activities during the Design Week.
As well as highlighting Buccellati’s strong links with Milan – the jewellery producer also being an exquisite expression of the city’s genius loci – the set incorporates the natural world into its architectural design thanks to the greenery occupying the fifth floor panoramic terrace, from which the exhibition can be accessed. The set thus conceptualises a new ecosystem and proposes different ways of occupying and transforming urban spaces, turning the Buccellati terrace into a meeting point and a source of rich experience. Although Milan is renowned for its “secret gardens”, here it also showcases itself as a city of roofs and terraces that can be turned into places for social exchange – also revealing different facets of its nature through its innovative events. “The set designed for Buccellati offers a unique experience: an anthology of ideas, creativity, colours and images. It offers a space and a project for creating new perspectives and new relationships between the producer, the city and the world of design” – Giorgio Donà (Stefano Boeri Interiors)
A MAGICAL TENT – Ashley Hicks Inspired by great historical banquets, Ashley Hicks’s installation celebrates the social ritual of the banquet, re-evoking the fabulous atmospheres of the Baroque era which took the spectacularization of food to an extreme through elaborate mise en table and displays of silver as a symbol of power. To emphasize the theatrical dimension, the English designer builds the scene inside a red tent – traditionally the color of hospitality and receptivity – which is accessed from the terrace turned into a garden: one crosses a dark area dimly lit by a chandelier to reach a fairy-tale table flooded in daylight; a mirrored wall framed by sumptuous drapes multiplies the space and accentuates the sense of enchantment, confusing reality and dreams. Hicks imagines a magnificent feast – all shadows and light, allegory and magic – and sets the scene of a fantastic marine world. Dipping into the Buccellati repertoir, he sets the group table with shells dressed in silver from the Marina Collection, the wavy-profiled trays harking at the sea of the Rouche Collection and a big centrepiece in the shape of a fishing basket (a piece designed by Mario Buccellati around 1960), together with the Ginori 1735 porcelain plates and the false porphyry totems (or other stone finishings), i.e. the celebrated sculptures Hicks made for the occasion, adorned by the silver detail of the Milan Maison. “The magic tent inspired by 17th-century banquets and their lavish dishware,” says the designer, “is a celebration of the magnificence of silver with its capacity to arouse marvel and enchantment.”
DINONS AU BOUDOIR – Chahan Minassian To celebrate the art of the dining table, Chahan Minassian sets up an intimate boudoir immersed in a sumptuous quiet. The French designer imagines his installation as a triumph of prized objects, much like a jewelry box, where the juxtaposition of varied fabrics, exuberant fittings and elegant accessories reflects the eclectic tastes of the collector and homeowner, who is inevitably attracted by the refined detail.
In this stratified tableau, elements designed by Minassian himself can be encountered, among which the pyramid lampshades, the turquoise Murano Glass ceiling lamp or the monumental separeé with rock crystal panels and rare historical pieces such as Harry Bertoia’s Bush sculpture of the late 1970s, the Neo-Egyptian styled chairs of Horacio Cordero, or as the – pièce de résistence – a brutalist table by Argentinian designer Hugo Cesar Tonti, with a bronze base which retraces the vigorous bearing of fleshy agave leaves.
The tablescape highlights the delicacy of the silver service which includes ice buckets, flûtes, dishes and cutlery from Buccellati’s Caviar Collection, studded with a myriad of small spheres joining to form decorative bands. Porcelains and blowed glasses designed by Minassian complete the table. The designer pays the utmost attention to detail and the tactile quality of the objects he uses, for the experience to be a pleasure for the eyes before being one for the palate.
“To celebrate the Caviar Collection,” Chahan Minassian says, “I imagined an intimate supper set in the relaxed but opulent alcove atmosphere, where all senses become exalted.”
70s REMIX – Dimorestudio Dimorestudio has chosen a silver service recalling ancient Venetian tastes and transports it to the dining room of a 1970s apartment. Monocromatic blocks in deep tones – aubergine and soft nuances of brown – delineate the spaces and volumes of the modular furniture which provides the ambiance with a retro allure, whilst the integrated exhibition planes allow for the lodging of works of art and historical design pieces. The materials employed establish a game of contrasts: cold and levigated like the brushed steel mirrors and elements, or soft and warm like the seat coverings, rug and floating flanges which hang from the ceiling lamps.
Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci adopt the ways and styles of Maria Pergay for use in extensive hatchings and the styling of silverware and ceramics, those of Nanda Vigo for the material conversations, from Pierre Cardin for the refined chromatisms, reelaborating historical references with a personal and contemporary twist. They construct a set of cinematographic flavor, accompanied by a soft electronic music background where the focal point is the table designed by Salci with a raised plateau in lacquered wood upon which – in a deliberately non rigorous manner – are displayed the caraffes, vases and jattes of Buccellati’s Doge Collection, connotated by the admixture of silver and cuts of lapis lazuli and red jasper.
“The luxurious decorum of the Doge Collection blends exquisitely with the linearity of the 1970s furnishings, while the informal table setting, intimate and friendly allows for the exploration of conviviality which goes beyond the traditional idea of sharing,” Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci assert.
PICNIC – Patricia Urquiola Patricia Urquiola reinterprets the theme of dining etiquette with a playful though sophisticated approach. The installation by this designer of Spanish origins draws its inspiration from the picnic hamper, an item which immediately evokes ancient popular tradition and the idea of togetherness by its very nature. But Urquiola does not decline the concept literally but rather translates it into a symbolic abstraction where conviviality and nature meet in legendary fantastications.
The metaphorical banquet thus becomes a space entirely covered in cork, where seemingly floating in the centre is a grill which recalls the typical pattern of checkered tablecloths, emblematic of every picnic. Upon this background dance Buccellati’s Tahiti kitchen sets in silver and bamboo (the name of the collection is an homage to the uncontaminated landscapes of Polinesia) and the precious painted “Double Rouche – Florence Furnace” porcelains made by Buccellati in collaboration with Ginori 1735.
The scene is enveloped by luxurious vegetation which recreates a bucolic context and is an invitation to enjoy a dialogue with the natural world. The ecological sensitivity also manifests here in the choice of materials used, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with which the tartan “tablecloth” is handwoven and 100% recyclable. “The installation reflects on the theme of being at the table from an unusual perspective,” Patricia Urquiola explains. “I wanted to reinterpret the precious Buccellati collections making them less severe and more casual. That’s why I created an out-of-the-ordinary banquet capable of reminding us of happy times spent with our loved ones, surrounded by nature.”
Team:
Installation Project: Stefano Boeri Interiors
Photographer: Silvia Rivoltella
