ROOMS & SECRETS

The first initiative of Spazio Milano, an offshoot of the Salone del Mobile of Milan, the furniture industry’s most important international tradeshow, the idea was to begin a collaboration that would involve the staging of exhibits and performances as part of the annual edition of the Salone.

This first effort, an exhibition-performance that united works by 18 world famous contemporary artists and directors, was housed in the Rotanda della Besana, one of Milan’s most beautiful historical buildings. It was a tremendous success, with over 34,000 visitors during its first week, and was extended to run for four months rather than one, as originally planned.

The theme, rooms and secrets, was proposed to the artists, and each one was given an individual space within the Rotonda, the overall design of which was created by Denis Santachiara, in such a way that each artist had a “room” to fill in whatever way they chose. The interpretations of the domestic space and its hidden side were sometimes poetic, some times brutal, dramatic, dreamy, confrontational – as different as the 18 artists are different.

The artists and works involved included Peter Greenaway (Wash and Travel, 2000), Robert Wilson (Anna’s Room, 2000), Emir Kusturica (Basement, 2000), Dumb Type, a multimedia group from Japan (Cascade, 2000), Marina Abramovic (Double Edge/Knives Ladder, 1997), Ghada Amer (Majnun, 1997), Massimo Bartolini (Untitled, 2000), Maria Teresa Hincapié (Que me bese con los besos de su boca, 2000), Eriko Horiki (Sai-Sei, 2000), Ben Jakober & Yannick Vu (Jalousie, 2000), Ilya & Emilia Kabakov (The Sick Child, 2000), Mladen Materic (La Cuisine, 2000), Yoko Ono (Play it by Trust, 1997), Michelangelo Pistoletto (Mobili Capovolti, 1976/2000), Peter Sarkisian (Dusted, 1998), Daniel Spoerri (Chambre n. 13 de l’Hotel Carcassonne, Paris, 1959-65, 1997/2000).

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PRODUCTION DATES
Milan, Italy
Rotonda della Besana
11 April – 20 August 2000