The well-known Carla Sozzani art gallery is hosting in Milan a retrospective of Angelo Mangiarotti’s sixty years of career (1921-2012). The exhibition includes an interesting selection of drawings, mock-ups, objects and videos, all belonging to the Studio Mangiarotti of Milan. It will be open from April 6 to 28.

The retrospective is conceived on several levels: first it presents a continuous series of images (drawings and photographs) distributed along the walls of the gallery, at the height of the eyes of the observer. The images are distributed on four levels, each corresponding to Mangiarotti’s different fields of activity: sculpture, architecture, design and interior design. Each of these levels is a timeline with all the works of the author, and it allows the visitor to analyze the evolution of his drawings and the interaction between the different fields in which he operated.

The reduced width of the images and their distribution along the walls allow the gallery to use its bright and neutral spaces for the display of several more objects (mock-ups and finished objects): the small and medium-sized ones are placed close to the walls, in neutral showcases that allow them to be observed in a proper way; the bigger objects (pieces of furniture, sculptures, lamps) occupy the central areas, so that they can be admired from a greater distance. There is also an area where visitors can watch videos related to Mangiarotti’s works.

The exhibition reveals an interesting and well conceived vision of the whole of Mangiarotti’s work. The way in which it is organized allows visitors to appreciate to which extent Mangiarotti seemed to exploit every field of activity. The early works of architecture, close to a functional rigour, are combined with more free experiences of formal analysis, explored through sculpture, and merge into a personal and characteristic design of objects: functional usage, honest expression of materials and formal dynamism.

The attempt of summarizing a sixty year long career always implies the risk of leaving out some interesting elements. Nevertheless, in this case we are witnessing a careful and adequate approach to Mangiarotti’s work, which conveys the core of his seek of correctness, in all of its dimensions. The same seek that, in the words of the master, leads to happiness.