Susumu Shingu's Wind-Powered Sculptures Breathe at Milan's Fabbrica del Vapore

From June 17, 2025 to October 14, 2026, Milan's Fabbrica del Vapore hosts 'Il cosmo', a major solo exhibition of Japanese artist Susumu Shingu. Born in Osaka in 1937, Shingu came to Italy in 1960 on an Italian government scholarship. In Rome, he studied under Franco Gentilini at the Accademia di Belle Arti, transitioning from painting to sculpture and discovering movement as a core element. The exhibition gathers nine key sculptures from his career and twenty-one works from the Windcaravan project—a series of wind sculptures that have traveled from Japanese rice paddies to Mongolian steppes, frozen Finnish lakes, and New Zealand, now united for the first time in Italy. The title reflects Shingu's vision of Earth as part of a larger system of relations and energies. His sculptures do not represent nature but make its invisible dynamics perceptible: air currents, atmospheric changes, water, and gravity become active elements. Also on view is 'Sandalino', an imaginary character Shingu created in recent years—a small traveler from another planet observing Earth with wonder and unease. Shingu's connection to Italy is evidenced by public works such as 'Il vento di Colombo' in Genoa's port, 'Il luogo della pioggia' at Lingotto in Turin, and 'Dialogo con le nuvole' in Lecco, alongside a long collaboration with Renzo Piano. The exhibition is part of celebrations for 160 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and Japan and 45 years of twinning between Osaka and Milan.