To ring in the opening of the Fondazione Prada’s new Milan venue, which opens to the public on May 9, 2015, Salvatore Settis has designed two concurrent exhibitions that will take place at both the Venice and Milan locations. “Serial Classic” and “Portable Classic” up in Milan and Venice respectively, will feature classical sculpture; the former with an exploration of originality and reproduction in Roman culture, and the latter with an investigation of the origin and function of miniature reproductions of classical sculptures.
In addition to these shows, the newly opened Milan location will have on display site-specific installations by Robert Gober and Thomas Demand, which will engage with the architecture of the space. In addition, Roman Polanski will create a new documentary about his cinematographic inspiration that will be shown in series of film screenings.
Rem Koolhas’ architecture firm OMA designed the new Milan space itself, expanding the original building by adding another three structures to the former distillery, which was built in the 1910s. The new building will dedicate a gargantuan 118,000 square feet to exhibiting artworks. In addition, two new facilities were developed for the space through collaborations: a kids’ area designed by a group of students from the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Versailles, and a bar for which director Wes Anderson has recreated the typical mood of old Milan cafés.
