Piero Fornasetti's Dreamlike Design on Display in Bologna

The exhibition 'Con Piero Fornasetti. L’utile e il dilettevole, 1953 – 1977' at Garage Bentivoglio in Bologna runs from October 17 to November 9, 2024. Curated by Davide Trabucco, it showcases Fornasetti's industrially produced everyday objects—trays, boxes, ashtrays, books, dice—decorated with motifs that bring art into homes. Fornasetti (Milan, 1913–1988) was a designer, decorator, painter, printer, and curator who rejected the label 'designer,' calling himself a 'Renaissance European.' His expressive code, developed with Gio Ponti, is ornamental yet functional, eccentric yet never cloying. Recurring themes include playing cards, animals, capitals, columns, and the face of opera singer Lina Cavalieri. Trabucco notes that Fornasetti collected and remixed images long before Tumblr and Pinterest. The exhibition is held at Garage Bentivoglio, the project room of Palazzo Bentivoglio, which has hosted monthly art and design shows for over a year.