.:. art / Gae Aulenti (1927-2012) 

Gae Aulenti (1927-2012)
May 22, 2024 through January 12, 2025

one picture only .:. If you ride the subway to the Triennale you will reach Piazzale Cadorna, a square redesigned green-and-red by Gaetana “Gae” Aulenti (Palazzolo dello Stella, 1927-Milan, 2012) and could visit the exhibition of her works in a wing of the Triennale that Gae also redesigned. That’s not surprising, since architect Aulenti worked on a number of eminent buildings around the world. For instance, she turned the old Gare d’Orsay railway station in Paris into what is now the Musée d’Orsay (1986), refurbished the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome (1997-1999), and oversaw the renewal of the San Francisco Museum of Asian Art (1996-2003).
.:. So far for her buildings. But “la Gae” – as she’s referred to in Milan, after the local habit of adding an article to household names – created landmarks in the history of Italian Design, leading the way in this field, too. April, her minimalist folding armchair produced by Zanotta, dates back to 1963. The Oracolo lamp for Artemide launched in 1969, and the Rossini two-seater for Cappellini entered the market in 1986, the same year as the Musée d’Orsay.
.:. Aulenti ingenuity also included the layout of Casabella, a leading design magazine, when she was only 28, residential homes since 1956, and theatre sceneries, particularly at La Scala and for the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. The current exhibition recreates a shocking set she designed for Richard Strauss’ Elektra (pictured) at La Scala in 1994: nothing less than a butchery. And this, by the way, is only one in the series of reconstructions that the Triennale dedicates to “la Gae” these months. In the name of both beauty and integrity, they should not be missed.

 Triennale
Viale Emilio Alemagna 6
Cadorna
Triennale district

   Euro 25 for the whole Triennale
    [+39] 02 724341