MILAN.- This is not merely an exhibition, but a multi-sensory experience that illustrates the 35-year history of Studio Azzurro, which has always stood as a national and international point of reference for the application of new technologies to artistic creation.

The exhibition 'Studio Azzurro. Sensitive Images' – on view in the Palazzo Reale in Milan from 9 April to 4 September 2016 – offers a display of evocative and poetic installations that have shaped the history of contemporary art. The event is promoted by the Cultural Department of the City Council of Milan and produced by Palazzo Reale and Studio Azzurro, in collaboration with the Arthemisia Group.

Dozens of projectors, screens, touchscreens and sensors are concealed in “sensitive environments” and react to the presence and movement of visitors, who can take an active role as they explore a space filled with images.

Since 1982, Studio Azzurro has created a vast range of works. Today, Milan is paying tribute to this remarkable research laboratory by presenting a fair share of the intense work which has led to the development of countless interactive video-installations and “sensitive environments”, as well as “narrative museums”, films and theatre performances.

The event is part of Ritorni al futuro, the programme of cultural events organized by the Milan City Council for spring 2016: over a hundred events – exhibitions, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and public talks – designed to bring our current idea of the future at the centre of public debate by comparing it to the ideas of the future which shaped creative thinking in other historical periods.

'Sensitive Images' offers a unique, one-off opportunity to admire the works that have thrilled whole generations in one venue.

“This exhibition is a tribute to Studio Azzurro and especially to one of its founders, Paolo Rosa, whose keen sensitivity and visionary outlook continue to represent a focal point for contemporary art, both in Italy and at an international level”, Arts and Culture Councillor Filippo Del Corno has stated. “This retrospective perfectly fits within the 'Ritorni al futuro' programme, given Studio Azzurro's capacity to deploy different cultural energies to ensure renewal and ongoing experimentation, creating a vast research laboratory which transcends the conventional distinction between art, performance and technology and redraws the boundaries of contemporary art.”

In 1982 Fabio Cirifino, Paolo Rosa and Leonardo Sangiorgi embarked on an experience that over the years led them to explore the poetic and expressive potential of the new technological media. In 1995 Stefano Roveda joined their team. By creating video-environments, sensitive and interactive environments, museum itineraries, theatre performances and films, they traced an artistic trajectory that cut across different disciplines, establishing a work team open to a range of contributions and significant collaborations. Their artistic research initially revolved around the development of video-environments exploring the integration between electronic images and physical settings, with the aim of giving viewers and perceptual itineraries a central role.

Ever since its early days, Studio Azzurro has also been producing various spectacles, extending its research to the fields of theatre and performance. An original mode of integration between theatre acting and video images was found with the invention of the “double scene”, whereby the body of an actor is directly integrated within the virtual space of a video. This experimental research was further developed in later years by exploring themes related to dance and musical theatre.

In 1995 a new, crucial interest emerged in interactive and multimedia approaches, with the development of a series of works described as “sensitive environments”. These react to stimuli from visitors, combining technology with a narrative and a setting. With no need for visitors to carry any technological equipment, the works react to ordinary modes of communication – when touched, walked upon or exposed to sounds. In addition to this, the development of various multimedia museum itineraries – featuring compelling narratives and immersive elements – ensured a broad dialogue with the public and with local communities.

The exhibition is a journey, an engaging experience and a special occasion to convey the creative approach of Studio Azzurro, whose aim has always been to elicit participation from visitors by allowing them to move within an environment that reacts to their presence and ordinary gestures.

The exhibition unfolds across fourteen rooms in the most majestic parts of the Palazzo Reale, from the Prince's Apartment to the Hall of the Caryatids: from The Swimmer (1984), one of Studio Azzurro's first installations, to The Puddle (2006), an interactive micro-landscape for children; from Tables (1995) – the first sensitive environment – to Story Bearers (2008-2016).

Alongside these well-established works we find a new interactive installation, entitled Miracle in Milan. Specifically conceived for this occasion as a tribute to the city, it is part of the Story Bearers series developed by Studio Azzurro in twenty years of technological and anthropological research. Miracle in Milan, whose purpose is to illustrate a particular area and its inhabitants, is designed in such a way as to turn the Hall of the Caryatids of the Palazzo Reale into an engaging narrative venue: a large virtual fresco inspired by the closing scene of Vittorio De Sica's film by the same title and which portrays – as though in a dream – old and new forms of poverty and marginalization, illustrating the striking and significant value of what is different and removed from dominant cultural models.