Robert Wilson to Design Salone del Mobile.Milano Centerpiece Around Michelangelo’s Last Pietà

MILAN — Few know that legendary Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo spent his final days completing a marble Virgin and Christ sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà. A departure from his earlier works, the elongated mother and son sculpture remains an unfinished marvel that sits in the Museo della Pietà within Milan’s Sforzesco castle.

To usher in the 63rd edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano and the 32nd edition of the Euroluce light exhibition, American director Robert Wilson is expected to unveil a showcase that incorporates dance, painting, design, movement, lights and drama and express his own “vision” of the power of Pietà Rondanini. The display will be accompanied by a live music ensemble that will play Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s instrumental version of “Stabat Mater,” a medieval prayer.

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Both Euroluce and Salone del Mobile will run April 8 to 13 at the city’s Rho Fiera trade grounds and will unfold under the aegis of the theme “Thought for Humans.” The campaign was unveiled Friday at a private press lunch in Milan.

At the event, Salone del Mobile.Milano underscored its dedication to supporting Milan and its cultural endeavors. Last week, Salone del Mobile.Milano revealed that it donated a “Tempietto” (Italian for small temple), which was designed by Mario Cucinella Architects and is situated prominently in the courtyard of the city’s new Palazzo Citterio, a museum that houses contemporary and modern art. Built with wood, the structure was inspired by Raphael’s “Marriage of the Virgin.”

“Mother” is promoted in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan and will be open to visitors April 8 to May 18. Wilson will also curate the stage creation of the “The Night Before, the Object Chairs Opera” with La Scala opera house, conducted by Michele Spotti.

It will not be the first time Wilson will create a showcase in Milan. His visionary project “Stanze e Segreti” (Italian for “rooms and secrets”) was curated by Achille Bonito Oliva at the Rotonda della Besana in 2000. Wilson also curated the installation architecture at another Salone del Mobile.Milano showcase, “Immaginando Prometeo” (Italian for “imagining Prometheus”) at the Palazzo della Ragione in 2003. He also curated “Tutti a Tavola!” — Italian for “Everyone to the Table” — which was showcased at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Villa Reale in 2010.

“I intend to create my own vision of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, which remained unfinished at the time of his death, divided between a feeling of reverential awe and one of admiring wonder,” Wilson said in a statement. “However, a feeling of serenity, of being at peace with oneself even faced with the tragedy of death, will prevail. Religion doesn’t come into it, in my case. It’s a universal image, a spiritual experience that moves something deeper within ourselves that needs no explanation.” 

Franco Laera, the curator of the project, commented at the lunch on Wilson’s flair for using light to arouse emotion. Salone del Mobile.Milano organizers also released the book published by Corraini and edited by Beppe Finessi called “Universo Satellite. 25 years of Salone Satellite.” A tribute to the contributions of Salone Satellite’s founder and curator Marva Griffin Wilshire has brought to the Italian and international design scene between 1998 to 2024, the book is also a compilation of 1,200 images documenting the envelope-pushing designs of the young creatives Griffin Wilshire has brought to the international stage.

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