The exhibition Tobia Scarpa: design and taste of the Italian table, curated by Cintya Concari and Roberto Marcatti and organised at the Museo Archeo Industriale di Terra d’Otranto, Maglie (LE) remains open until 31st October 2023.
The exhibition, created in collaboration with Evelina Bazzo, the Associazione Mercatino del Gusto and Archivio Studio Scarpa, takes place in an important and symbolic space, such as the current site of the new Museo Archeo Industriale in Maglie.
The exhibition aims to tell the story of one of the greatest Italian architects and designers of the 20th century and his passion for food, taste and the table.
Useful, beautiful and sometimes precious, the many everyday objects and accessories on display: plates, cutlery, glasses, carafes, trays, designed by Tobia Scarpa, initially with his wife Afra, to accompany mealtimes.
An extraordinary workmanship expressed through the numerous complements, conceived to welcome and furnish the domestic environments dedicated to conviviality with their dining tables, chairs, lamps.
Talking about the unprecedented exhibition in Maglie, Tobia Scarpa says: “I am happy that there is an opportunity for an exhibition dedicated to me in Salento (…) Project means throwing forward a thought, a will, a way of performing; it means giving being in need of everything, it is a ride in the intimate dimension“.
Curator Cintya Concari on the character of the exhibition reveals: “Thank you Tobia Scarpa for designing and giving us all so many objects that closely follow our love relationships, mark our family histories and do not erase memory, a rare commodity nowadays“.
The other curator of the exhibition, Roberto Marcatti, reflects on Tobia Scarpa’s work: “Talking about creativity and coherence, Tobia brought me the course of a river as an example. He told me that a river is composed of a riverbed and the flow of water, and similarly imagination and rigour proceed like the river”.
Alongside the exhibits there are also original drawings and a bookshop that offers visitors a selection of volumes, editions and catalogues, flanked by an area dedicated to the projection of the portrait-documentary “L’anima segreta delle cose” (The secret soul of things), filmed in 2014 to capture the human experience that Tobia Scarpa makes explicit in his designs.
Around the long table set up in the central space of the Museum take place numerous pieces and complements, now true icons, with the addition of curious objects placed in the external area of the Museum.
A rich domestic landscape, therefore, covering the 60 years of architect Scarpa’s design activity in synergy with the most important Made in Italy design companies, which have lent and re-edited the many objects on display to celebrate the exhibition.
Noble materials such as silver, wood, Murano glass, marble and brass tell the story of the craftsmanship of the Italian company, as well as the culture of the industry that has been able to recognise and value the contribution of designers, not only architects and designers, but also graphic artists and photographers, becoming a world reference for Italy.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Cover: Museum entrance, Ph. Daniele Coricciati
Photo 1: exhibition poster
Photos 2-6: images of the inauguration, Ph. Raffaele Puce
Photos 7-12: images of the inauguration, Ph. Daniele Coricciati
