Emilio Vedova Centennial Exhibition at Palazzo Reale with Striking Installation

On December 5, 2019, a long queue formed at Palazzo Reale in Milan for the opening of a centennial exhibition dedicated to Emilio Vedova (1919-2006). The show features 48 large-scale works in the Sala delle Cariatidi, with an installation designed by Alvisi Kirimoto: a 34-meter-long, 5-meter-high, 1-meter-thick diagonal wall made of OSB panels and black metal tubes, allowing proper lighting. Curated by Germano Celant, the exhibition presents the Plurimi (articulated painted sculptures) on one side, and Dischi and Tondi (two-sided painted discs and circles from the 1980s) on the other, installed on the floor, leaning against the wall, or pierced by bricole. Foundation president Alfredo Bianchini stated that the show is the first of its kind, with plans to bring it to a US venue in 2020, possibly the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Celant's text describes the installation as minimal and elementary, but the scale suggests otherwise.