Molteni Museum Presents ‘Materialized: IDEAS IN MATTER’
Curated by Ron Gilad, the exhibition explores how design, research, manufacturing and material innovation transform familiar furniture pieces into unique works.
On the occasion of Settimana della Cultura d’Impresa 2026, Molteni Museum presents Materialized: IDEAS IN MATTER, an exhibition curated by Ron Gilad. It explores how ideas take shape through design, research, manufacturing and material innovation.
Through a series of interventions, familiar pieces from the collections of Molteni&C, UniFor and Citterio become one-of-a-kind works. As a result, they occupy a space between design and art. Each object reveals new possibilities while highlighting the industrial knowledge, technical expertise and craftsmanship behind its creation.
Rather than presenting products as finished industrial objects, the exhibition treats them as living matter. Visitors can see how familiar forms can be questioned, modified, expanded and reimagined.
Ron Gilad explains the thinking behind the exhibition:
“The history of Italian design is strewn with creative ideas that transcended the boundaries of function. It was precisely these ideas and gestures that transformed our attitude toward design in the twentieth century, elevating it to the status of an art f orm recognized by museums. Throughout Molteni Museum’s history, its exhibitions have showcased treasures from the archive. In this exhibition, however, instead of dusting off the past, we’re unboxing the present.”
Designers Reimagine Familiar Forms
The exhibition features reinterpretations of products developed through collaborations with Michael Anastassiades, AMDL CIRCLE, Foster + Partners Industrial Design, Naoto Fukasawa, Ron Gilad, Herzog & de Meuron, Luca Meda, Jean Nouvel, OMA, Tobia Scarpa, Patricia Urquiola and Vincent Van Duysen.
The participating designers and studios approach existing products through personal, theatrical, ironic and unexpected interpretations. Some enhance the original form, while others change proportions, exaggerate functions or give objects new purposes. In this way, each intervention creates a new narrative around a familiar design.
Material, Form and Construction
Several projects explore how changes in form can transform an object’s identity. For the Porta Volta Special edition, Herzog & de Meuron take inspiration from the original chair’s soft backrest and seat. They also draw on the playful qualities of inflatable objects. The transparent inflatable structure creates a comfortable seat and back while revealing the chair’s concept and construction.
Meanwhile, Jean Nouvel’s Less Special edition explores the idea of “almost nothing”. The design takes the form of an extremely thin tabletop, which appears like a line drawn in the air. Its mirrored surface reflects the surrounding architecture, movement and changing light. Similarly, the Elémentaire Special edition explores the essential form of an armchair, creating a design that moves beyond seasonal trends.
Material expression takes centre stage in Naoto Fukasawa’s Cinnamon Special Edition. Here, rattan weaving highlights the importance of skilled craftsmanship. Fukasawa observes:
“I believe that finely weaving the rattan is especially important in this Cinnamon design. The fact that this requires the hand of a highly skilled artisan is very significant.”
The project brings scientific research together with technical expertise and artisan skill.
Construction also shapes Michael Anastassiades’ Card Special edition. Starting with the joint, he reimagines the bookcase as a screen. The new design uses form and colour to highlight its joints and construction details.
New Interpretations of Structure and Function
Ron Gilad’s Banco Special edition pays tribute to Luca Meda. Inspired by a fountain in a city square, the design takes the form of a freestanding counter. It can stand independently of surrounding walls. Moreover, the project builds on Banco’s ability to take on new forms and meanings.
OMA’s PRINCIPLES Special edition focuses on two recognisable elements of the collection: the ‘donut’ and the double-layered table. Through material experimentation, the project shows how the same system can take on different characters. Philippe Braun, Associate at OMA, explains:
“Material determines character. The same system can be graphic or tactile, industrial or intimate, depending on what it is made of.”
Similarly, AMDL CIRCLE’s MDL System special edition takes inspiration from a single leg of the original design. By multiplying this detail, the studio gives the table an appearance of movement. The object remains still, yet its form suggests a walking motion.
Ron Gilad’s Teorema Special edition explores the relationship between physical objects and imagined forms. The design combines positive and negative spaces through repetition and layering. Instead of creating a conventional wardrobe, each element works as an independent drawer that can be stacked and multiplied.
The Panna Cotta Special edition explores suspension and movement. Its minimal wireframe supports a subtle physical vibration across the upper surface. At the base, a suspended counterweight moves freely in response to gravity while the object retains its function.
Exploring Materials and Perception
Vincent Van Duysen’s Hector special edition transforms the modular bookcase through the suspension of a dress. The garment appears to float in space, bringing a delicate quality to the structure. In contrast, Citterio’s Wood Wall creates a stronger architectural presence within the exhibition.
Van Duysen also reinterprets the Paul Special edition through material contrast. The project explores how rigid materials can retain the appearance and memory of softness. By translating the original upholstered design into folded sheet metal, the project replaces soft volumes with precise surfaces and a continuous metal envelope.
For the Diamond Special edition, Patricia Urquiola draws inspiration from how trees isolate damaged areas and continue to grow. Cedar wood from a historic tree in the Molteni family’s garden forms the basis of a table that appears to be carved from a single piece.
Urquiola reflects:
“Finding the wooden Diamond again felt like going back to one of the earliest research prototypes. It’s a project that has kept me company in my office every day for more than twenty years.”
Tobia Scarpa’s Monk Special edition explores memory through two seats designed to accompany a daybed. Both retain the same wooden structure but alter its proportions. One seat is wider, while the other is narrower. Scarpa said:
“We need to let what past has granted us continue to express itself, to live; at times we have to let it resonate in the present, to sing, to grasp al l its potential and magic”.
Colour, Scale and Manufacturing
Colour plays an important role in the projects by Foster + Partners Industrial Design. In the Arc Special edition, coloured glass combines with two black-tinted Ductal bases. The result explores transparency, reflections and the perception of light.
Meanwhile, the Shelving X Special edition features two six-metre-long shelves. Together, they create the impression of a continuous surface floating through the museum’s central space.
The exhibition also includes video installations produced by Muse Factory of Projects. These films trace the development, design history and manufacturing processes behind the original catalogue pieces. Together, the objects and films show how imagination works alongside material knowledge, industrial precision and production expertise.
Through Materialized: IDEAS IN MATTER, Molteni Museum celebrates the process through which ideas become physical forms, industrial knowledge becomes culture and everyday objects acquire new meanings.
