Key details
Time
- 10am – 6pm
Location
- Kensington
-
RCA, Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2EU
Price
- Free
Who can attend
- Everyone
Type
- Lecture
“For one reason and another, I feel I have close ties with English culture. (…) The English have understood one of the secrets of design. 'To look at usual things with unusual eyes'. English culture has a knack for turning meaning upside down, for coming up with surprising combinations. Sense of need and love for reality are intertwined in British culture. Sometimes all you need to do is alter one small element of reality to create an object of high formal standard”.
Vico Magistretti in Abitare, no. 314, January 1993
Il Magistretti inglese explores the relationship between Vico and the United Kingdom through projects, correspondence, collaborations, conferences, awards and recognitions, as well as through the work and recollections of his students at the Royal College of Art in London.
The exhibition tells a story of a design and cultural affinity, almost a “love story” – drawing on letters, sketches, photographs, and notes mostly from the Studio Magistretti Archive – that goes far beyond Vico’s well-known role as visiting professor at the Royal College of Art in 1979.
A love story that starts in the 1950s with Magistretti’s participation in the Italian Contemporary Architecture show at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London and which goes on to include many projects inspired by English forms and materials, from the Caori table in 1969 to the Raffles armchair in 1988.
Also noteworthy are the trip for the 12th Triennale to visit the English prefabricated Model Schools and the traces of the conferences held in London, Glasgow and Belfast. The show also extends to little-known architectural projects in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Private View: Thursday 9 July
Closed on Friday 17 July.
