Bisazza opens new cultural space with an exhibition of John Pawson

06/12

On 8 June 2012, the Bisazza Foundation will open a new cultural space dedicated to design and contemporary architecture in their headquarters in Montecchio Maggiore, near Vicenza. More than 6000 square metres will showcase works and mosaic installations created by internationally renowned artists and designers, as well as host temporary exhibitions from the foremost institutions around the world. 

 

In honour of the official opening, the Bisazza Foundation will present John Pawson – Plain Space, a major exhibition of the works of acclaimed British designer, John Pawson, in conjunction with the Design Museum, London. On view for the first time in Italy, the exhibition will also include an original, site-specific work created by Pawson exclusively for the Bisazza 

Foundation, which will be unveiled at the opening, and marks the first time the British designer has used mosaics during his career. 

 

John Pawson – Plain Space celebrates John Pawson’s career, beginning in the early 1980s to the present day, and showcases his architecture and product designs, which are all characterized by visual clarity, simplicity and grace. The exhibition includes a selection of landmark commissions such 

as the Sackler Crossing in London, the Cistercian Monastery in the Czech Republic, and Calvin Klein’s iconic flagship store in New York, as well as current and future projects. 

 

Pawson will offer a direct and immersive experience of his work, and architectural elements in stone, bronze, wood and metal taken from a range of buildings will explore his sensitive use of materials. Using a rich range of media, the exhibition will show Italian public projects from Pawson’s career through photography, film, sketches, study models, prototypes as well as personal items from the Pawson archive. 

Moreover, for the opening of the Bisazza Foundation, John Pawson is producing an original, sitespecific work, using mosaics for the first time in his career. 

 

The concept for the Bisazza Foundation - a private, non-profit organization that is open to the public arose from Bisazza’s longstanding focus on and commitment to the culture of design and architecture. Piero and Rossella Bisazza, respectively the President and Vice-President of the Foundation, state: “The Bisazza Foundation has a dual vocation: it is intended as an exhibition space to bring together works and installations by contemporary designers and architects who, over the course of the last 20 years, have created original applications for mosaics; it is also proposed as a cultural subject in continuous interaction with other international institutions for the purposes of hosting projects and exhibitions of design and architecture, not necessarily associated with mosaics”. 

 

THE SPACES OF THE FOUNDATION 

The Foundation spans an area of approximately 6000 square metres. In the past, the grounds were utilized by the company for production purposes; the spaces have since been renovated and adapted to host exhibitions. The Fondazione’s ample permanent collection will consist of installations by designers such as Tord Boontje, Aldo Cibic, Sandro Chia, Jaime Hayon, Alessandro Mendini, Fabio Novembre, Mimmo Paladino, Andrée Putman, Ettore Sottsass, Studio Job, Patricia Urquiola and Marcel Wanders. An additional 1000 square metres space will be devoted to exhibitions and installations internationally renowned 

designers from prestigious foreign institutions. 

 

The exhibition John Pawson - Plain Space takes place from 8 June to 29 July 2012. 

 

For further information: 

THE BISAZZA FOUNDATION 

Viale Milano 56 

36075 Montecchio Maggiore 

Vicenza (Italy) 

Tel: +39 0444 707690 

info@fondazionebisazza.it 

www.fondazionebisazza.it