Fondazione Prada – Fondazione Prada – World of Contemporary Art
This is an entire art quarter opened in a former distillery in the south of Milan. It is arguably the epicentre of contemporary art in the culturally rich capital of Lombardy. The museum was founded in 1993 by Miuccia Miuccia, the youngest granddaughter of the famous fashion designer Mario Prada, and her husband Patrizzio Bertelli. It seems unlikely that such an avant-garde direction would be of interest to the general public, but after a visit, opinion tends to change. The works are strong in emotional terms, they are also very stylish. It is immediately obvious that people from the world of fashion had a hand in the formation of the collection. The museum consists of several buildings.
The tour starts with a short coffee break in the Luce bar, designed by the American film director Wes Anderson, and then on to the controversial, discussion-filled world of contemporary art. The most expensive contemporary artists, provocations, play with the feelings and emotions of the viewer.
The permanent exhibition includes three exhibitions. On the upper floors of the so-called Haunted House are Robert Gober’s “No Name” works: a cot with a piece of butter and peas instead of a baby, an anchor leg and a giant box of porridge, and “Corner Door and Frame.” On the first level, Gober’s works inspired by childhood and the human body are complemented by creations by Frenchwoman Louise Bourgeois: the installation “Clothes,” made of doors and wardrobe items hanging from them, and “Bachelor,” a room with a cloth mannequin lying on the floor.
The second permanent exhibition is “The Grotesque Process.” The title is ambiguous. German artist Thomas Demand recreated a grotto he saw in Mallorca out of paper. More than 30 tonnes of cardboard formed a real cave with stalactites, stalagmites and rocks. It is not immediately obvious that each of the 900,000 layers is a sheet of cardboard.
Atlas is perhaps the brightest and therefore most optimistic exhibition at Fondazione Prada. On six levels are works by Carla Accardi, Jeff Koons, Walter di Maria and other contemporary masters whose main idea is to show the connection between the personal and the social.
Acts – all days except Tuesday, 1 January, 1 May, 25 December
.
