Aldo Cibic presents a selection of his works at the Savona 18 Suites Hotel in an exhibition that will be held in Milan from 8 to14 April 2019 Milan, Via Savona 18 (8th – 14th April 2019). Aldo Cibic presents and discuss his works at a fascinating exhibition held inside the ‘Savona 18 Suites’ boutique hotel, one of the designer’s most highly-esteemed projects, which was recently completed together with the Cibicworkshop. On this special occasion, in the internal spaces of the hotel, permanently decorated and fitted with furniture and accessories which he designed himself, Cibic exhibits also various drawings, photographs and installations. Through this carefully-planned presentation of his works visitors will be able to learn about his artistic skills and sensibility focused on the ‘aesthetics of vitality’.
The pre-existing architectural elements and interior spaces of the Savona 18 Suites provide a scenic backdrop, which, in the exhibition spaces is enriched by additional elements. In this setting a special story is proposed through a variety of images, forms, colours and functions. The exhibition runs through four internal spaces: the reception hall, the lobby, the Petit Café and the Garden 18 area, which follow on, one after the other, in a ‘fluid’ story with a variety of references and dialogues between different eras and genres.
In the reception hall two rather conspicuous linear elements simultaneously convey a sense of activity and moments of ease and repose: the large, six-metre, wooden Tibetan desk with a warm, vermilion-red finish and screen-printed OSB panelling, and the wooden, three-legged yellow bench by Bisazza. The reception counter is decorated with a Trio brass lamp designed for Ghidini 1961.
In the entrance area visitors will see Andy, Sandy and Louis, three pieces of the final Memphis year, which reveal the way in which Aldo’s language will evolve. The three elements are complementary, but at the same time are characterised by their individual character, flanked by drawings that illustrate the genesis of their design. “I remember a long weekend when I started planning the design of these pieces, and as I gradually produced the drawings I would make a note of the date and the time. Here, at the exhibition, I decided that I would let visitors see some of the early drawings that reveal the way in which the pieces were conceived and developed, illustrating the beginning of the process and the final results.”
The large ‘living-room’ area of the Savona 18 Suites is conceived as a harmoniously designed communal space, a dominant feature of which is the large Lucky Eye ‘mirror lamp’. Assisted by Tommaso Corà at the Cibicworkshop, Cibic designed this curved mirror surrounded by OLED lighting.
Beneath the mirror there is the Otto dining table with a rectangular surface and rounded corners, oblique square-section legs and a satin-finish brass surface. This solid, simple and yet precious table created by Aldo Cibic presents a strong and iconic form of elegance. Just a short distance away visitors will find another original piece of furniture. The Ellissima bookcase presents ‘L’-shaped wooden elements with a glossy yellow lacquer finish resting on a base made of ziricote wood.
Again, the accompanying drawings offer an idea of the long period of development of this piece of furniture, from the mid-1980s to the present day, and show how the design gradually evolved. The Pouffa seat is presented for the first time. Covered with a lozenge-pattern fabric, this piece has six orange-coloured Plexiglas legs.
In front of the seat there are two sofas, a red floor-covering from the Happy Carpets collection, an acid green table from the Standard collection with petunia chairs, and Oblò armchairs that were designed for Fratelli Boffi. On one of the walls a giant poster shows an image of the Piggy carafe that was designed for Paola C. Referring to this piece, Aldo says, “this is perhaps the object I love the most”.
On the shelves there are other objects designed for Paola C., such as those forming part of the Table Joy collection, together with the corresponding preparatory drawings. In the bar area the centrepiece placed above the counter is the Dune landscape created by Blumohito. The walls are covered by a series of images and photographs of projects such as the Pocket Landscape collection. In the hall there is a lamp produced by Venini specifically for the Savona 18 Suites interior, and other lamps from the Lou collection produced by the same brand. The round table at the centre of this area was made at the Slow Wood workshop. Some reproductions of Palladian villas created for the ‘Gioco della Villa’ exhibition-display project have been placed on one of the window shelves.
The Garden 18 area, an internal 310-sq.m courtyard, which, with the RODA design sofas and armchairs, has been transformed into a large open-air lounge, will contain Nicescapes, landscape-paintings by Blumohito specifically produced for this exhibition.
