LURAGO D’ERBA.- Bonacina inaugurates the Museo Galleria Giardino, a place where visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the universe of the brand throughout an experiential exhibition that develops within the walls of the historic architecture building designed in 1969 by Italian architect Lorenzo Forges Davanzati. The building was commissioned by Vittorio Bonacina, second generation of the family, and was originally intended to house the showroom, a workshop and storage area for rattan and rattan core. This has remained the main exhibition and display space for years but today it has evolved into a multifunctional area with the objective to showcase Bonacina’s vision, heritage and philosophy.
The rational architecture building featuring large windows that flood the interior space with natural light, now houses the Museum, which extends over an area of 600 square meters, and the Galleria of over 1000 square meters. The Galleria will be used as a showroom for the presentation of Bonacina’s latest collections. The space maintains its original features but has been renovated with sustainability in mind with the installation of new heat pump systems and lighting.
The design of the Museum’s windows is an exploration of the concept of weaving. Four large installations, conceived by unPizzo Studio, recreate interpretations of Bonacina’s stylistic hallmark of weaving works over the various decades by using alternative materials, textures and decorations.
The Museum houses over a century of prototypes and designs from the Bonacina Historical Archive, memory of the brand, together with studies and research papers still used today as a starting point for the development of new projects and design collaborations. The Historical Archive, while maintaining its original characteristics, evolves into a dynamic and enhanced language, which leaves room for new interpretations and visions.
Prototypes and product studies, such as the Margherita and Gala armchairs by Franco Albini, designed in 1951, are both on display together with never seen before works by designers such as Joe Colombo, Raffaella Crespi, Gianfranco Frattini, Ico Parisi and Gio Ponti.
That of Bonacina is a journey that begins in 1889 and reinforces the authority of the family as the keeper of the brand’s authentic heritage, strengthening its identity by giving it generational continuity.
Inside the spaces of the Galleria and of the Giardino, visitors discover the strong link between past, present and future creations. The three collections are presented in both Indoor and Outdoor variations in order to bring Bonacina’s timeless taste and stylistic code even to outdoor areas, offering a skilful combination of historical and innovative materials.
The Decor collection, an encounter between craftsmanship virtuosity and the taste for timeless Italian simplicity, is the result of the long standing collaboration between Mario Bonacina and designers such as Renzo Mongiardino, Gae Aulenti and Mattia Bonetti and is inspired by the Archive of the early 1900s.
Grandi Maestri includes products made from the 1950s, closely related to architecture and sculptural dimensions. Cutting-edge pieces with an innovative design explore the concepts of bold three-dimensionality, colour and proportions. Exhibited in some of the most important international museums and institutions including MoMA, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Triennale Milan and the Vitra Design Museum, this incredible roster of iconic works is collected in the new volume ‘Bonacina Grandi Maestri’, an editorial project by Lampoon Publishing House which will be presented on the occasion of the Museum opening.
Within the Contemporanei collection, experimentation meets commercial sensibility, without ever compromising the historical and artisanal values of the brand. Contemporary masters such as Piero Lissoni, Mary Bloch, Marco Zanuso Jr and Tomoko Mizu together with other talents such as Franco Bizzozzero, Giuseppe Viganò and Francesco Bettoni have all signed pieces for Bonacina that combine innovation while celebrating natural materials.
