Where to See Stellar Collectible Design at Milan Design Week

1. “Misha Kahn: Far Afield” for Friedman Benda

The newly minted Galerie Creative Mind is preparing to captivate Fuorisalone fairgoers in multiple places: first by transforming the legendary Villa Necchi Campiglio with Dedar fabric “balloons” and second at Capsule Plaza with a fantastical backdrop of colorful mirrors. Named Azimuth in reference to the archaic method of celestial measurement, the sprawling grid “reflects our desire to measure ourselves against our abyss,” Kahn says, “here illustrated by radiating rectangular irises of color.” Also on view is a signature Seussian resin and fiberglass dining table inspired by entangled marine crustaceans and a console emulating clay draped fabric that marks the Brooklyn- and Hudson-based designer’s inaugural foray into marble.

Capsule Plaza:
Piazza Risorgimento 8
April 8–13

2. “Repertorio” at Nilufar

The influential design emporium founded by gallerist doyenne Nina Yashar is celebrating its tenth anniversary with an immersive, multi-venue show intertwining scenography and theatre. It unfolds in five acts, starting with a tribute to the dualities of metal—rigidity and fluidity, resistance and reflection—devised by Fosbury Architecture. The avant-garde firm envisioned a louche labyrinth encased by a reflective aluminum fence with a ‘70s-inspired burgundy shag carpet underfoot; the inner display highlights the material’s array of finishes and techniques across styles, eras, and movements. Throughout the rest of the depot is a curated selection of collectible 1970s pieces alongside contemporary works by Audrey Large, Flavie Audie, and Supaform. Other acts evoke stories of far-flung cultures, from the flora-like Murano glass sculptures by Christian Pellizzari to copper and brass one-offs by Shlomo Harush.

Viale Lancetti 34
Via della Spiga 32
From April 7

3. Roham Shamekh at “Deoron Elevating Objects”

Roham Shamekh’s series of Pharrell-inspired chairs stole the show during the last leg of Design Miami 2024, when Rihanna paid the angelic white resin sculptures a surprise visit. The fast-rising Dubai designer’s work is fated to once again command attention as the centerpiece of “Deoron Elevating Objects,” a group collectible design showcase hosted by the digital curatorial platform. This time, Shamekh rendered the cherubim in a lustrous gold bronze that at once symbolizes success and spirituality—and further elevates his biggest influence with previously unseen dimensions of resonance.    

Via Paolo Frisi 3
April 7–13

4. Alcova

The nomadic showcase of unorthodox ideas by emerging talents curated by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima will once again occupy the historic 19th-century landmarks and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi and Villa Borsani as well as two new venues nearby: the former SNIA factory and Pasino Glasshouses. The latter two are raw, layered spaces where nature has begun reclaiming its territory—and are showing work reckoning with that atmosphere.

At the villas, the contrast of former owner Osvaldo Borsani’s restrained modernism and mind-bending collectible design works is sure to spark compelling dialogues and memorable scenes. Faye Toogood is debuting a new ceramics collection for Japan’s Noritake Design Collection. The Amsterdam-based duo Rive Roshan will transform an outdoor fountain with an installation that interacts poetically with natural light. The Shakti Design Residency invited a group of global designers, including Duyi Han, to engage with India’s craft traditions. And in an icehouse, the Netherlands-based duo Studio Noké will explore the physics of wave motion through six sculptures interacting with the light and environment. 

Via Umberto 1
April 8–13

5. “Aline Asmar d’Amman: The Power of Tenderness” at Spazio Rossana Orlandi

The essence of spring is sure to emanate through Spazio Rossana Orlandi—and not only because of the sunlight streaming inside its historic vaulted halls. Aline Asmar d’Amman’s new collection of collectible furniture includes a series of pink-and-green onyx side tables intertwining like an announcement of the season. The Beirut- and Paris-based multihyphenate also mined a wealth of literary influences to inform her swiveling curvy sofas and concrete bookshelves outfitted with books stacked like bricks. Designing them “is a delectable act of isolation and total immersion in a world that is my own,” she explains. “I lovingly marry words and marble. Their veins and the paper fuse to give birth to a rare poetic material.” Throughout the week, she plans to serve a cake celebrating her furniture’s sensual shapes with Chef Cesare Murzilli.

Via Matteo Bandello 16
April 6–July 31

6. “Romantic Brutalism: A Journey Into Polish Craft and Design”

After more than a century of foreign rule, Poland sought to reclaim its identity by participating in the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décorafits et Industriels Modernes in Paris. Celebrating the event’s centenary is a remarkable showcase of Polish ingenuity overseen by the newly established Visteria Foundation, which will strive to help the country’s coterie of creative talents gain international recognition. The inaugural show, curated by Federica Sala and held in a historic Milanese apartment, juxtaposes midcentury Polish artifacts with modern works by the likes of Marcin Rusak, who will present his Perishable Vases alongside a cabinet reflecting his signature technique of suspending timeworn flowers in resin. 

Viale di Porta Cercellina 11
April 6–13

7. “Alessi: The Last Pot” at Biblioteca Ostinata

Funerary urns receive surprisingly little attention from the design world—an oversight that Alessi is seeking to correct with “The Last Pot.” The esteemed Italian accessories brand tapped ten prestigious global talents—Michael Anastassiades, Audrey Large, David Chipperfield, Daniel Libeskind, Naoto Fukasawa, Philippe Starck, Mario Tsai, Michele de Lucci, EOOS, and Giulio Iacchetti—to put their spin on the typology for a playfully macabre group show at Biblioteca Ostinata. Symbols of regeneration recur throughout, from a metallic egg-shaped sculpture by Anastassiades to the delicately engraved metal thread on Large’s urn-shaped memento inspired by the “silver cord” connection between the living and the deceased.

Via Osti 6
April 8–12

8. Arno Declercq at 10 Corso Como

With a monumental presence influenced by his passion for Brutalist architecture, Arno Declercq’s artisanal handcrafted creations astound with their beguilingly simple forms that convey timeless strength. They’re now taking over 10 Corso Como Gallery for an exclusive solo exhibition spotlighting the young Belgian designer’s most recent works, many of which deftly employ raw materials like wood, metal, and bronze treated with black stain and wax to achieve a dark-as-the-night finish. They look particularly compelling against the newly renovated gallery’s crisp white backdrop. 

10 Corso Como
April 7–13

9. “Daniele Papuli: Fragmenti” at Dilmos

Daniele Papuli refers to himself as a “sculptographer”—the Italian artist has spent upwards of three decades investigating paper’s use as a sculptural and functional material, yielding breathtaking installations for the likes of LuisaViaRoma and Sephora that explore the material’s innate strength. Lately, the Puglia-born talent has shifted his attention to one-of-a-kind furniture soon to debut at longtime design gallery Dilmos Milano. Spanning vessels, tables, and even a sculptural bookcase that appears carved from an oversize tree, the pieces reveal his tried-and-true production technique—he deconstructs the paper, cuts it into thin strips to build volume, and adds an industrial cellulose mixture to yield new colors and textures—still has much fruit to bear. “Paper is also a material for design,” Papuli says. “Here, the paper invites us to be touched, caressed, or cherished, engaging with the imagination and the illusion.”

Via San Marco 1
April 7–13

10. “Vincenzo de Cotiis: Je Marchais Pieds Nus Dans L’Étang”

Vision often dissolves into abstraction in Claude Monet’s idyllic landscapes, in which water lilies often float on pristine ponds. Vincenzo de Cotiis’s latest body of work reinterprets the pond as a sculptural environment, where organic forms, shifting reflections and enigmatic creatures mingle within a dynamic spatial composition. The picturesque scene unfolds on tabletops cast with white bronze and hand-painted Murano glass evoking light’s fleeting reflections on water, but it’s best experienced across the full vignette. “The water lily, a motif both serene and restless, returns in elongated, distorted forms, dissolving into their surroundings,” de Cotiis says. “The suggestion of legs, elongated and fluid, wading through this imagined pond, anchors the installation in movement.” The show serves as a prelude to a major solo exhibition opening at Carpenters Workshop Gallery’s outpost in New York City this November.

Vincenzo de Cotiis Gallery:
Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 1A
April 7–Aug. 7