SuperDesign: Maria Cristina Didero on Italian Radical Design's Legacy

Curator Maria Cristina Didero presents 'SuperDesign,' a multi-platform project exploring Italian Radical Design from 1965-75, comprising an exhibition at R&Company in New York, a monograph from Monacelli Press, and a documentary film co-directed with Francesca Molteni. The project, incubated over nearly two decades, draws on Didero's collaboration with collector Dakis Joannou and research across Italy. The exhibition features key pieces from the period, including loans from Dennis Freedman, while the book includes texts by Deyan Sudjic and Catharine Rossi. The film interviews protagonists like Pietro Derossi, Franco Audrito, and Germano Celant, as well as Emilio Ambasz, curator of MoMA's 1972 'Italy: The New Domestic Landscape.' Didero notes the movement's revival in recent years, attributing it to a rediscovery of its values of freedom, irony, and social engagement. She emphasizes that the radical designers aimed to change the world through design, addressing issues of rights and creativity. The project title 'SuperDesign' reflects multiple meanings: highest quality, beyond categories, and extraordinary. The exhibition runs until January 4, 2018, at R&Company, 82 Franklin Street, New York.