“Make life a game”: so urged the Dutch sociologist Johan Huizinga in 1939 in his work Homo Ludens. His theory foresaw the passage from homo sapiens to homo ludens; in essence, the human being, freed thanks to the machine from the slavery of coercive labour, would finally dedicate himself to a ‘ludic’ existence, dedicated to recreational activities, cultural growth and play. That play that is to be understood as one of the highest psycho-cognitive expressions one can achieve.

Today we wonder whether the artifice of human ingenuity - be it artificial intelligence or technology - is really liberating us, leading us towards a more playful and happy existence, or whether it is just creating another degree of addiction. The fact remains that ‘play is a serious matter’, as great Italian designers such as Bruno Munari and Enzo Mari knew so well, who devoted so much of their design to objects that stimulate the mental exploration aptitudes of young and old alike.

This selection of objects, books, and furniture is an invitation to play, to do so in constant practice, as an expression of freedom and curiosity, as an activity dedicated to relationships with others and the search for our other selves. We may find that it is the best way to escape and find ourselves at the same time. Without winners or losers; just by putting ourselves out there.

Available in store only.

A hybrid and mobile cabinet of curiosity, the 10·Corso·Como Project Room hosts an editorial selection of rare volumes and international cult magazines. A meeting place for the creative and academic community, it is also a space where contemporary issues can be addressed, thanks to a selection of writings offering reflections on sustainability and human relations, and looking at the intersection of art, fashion and culture.

Available in store only.

From February 21st to April 5th, 2024 the Project Room hosts for the first time the series of Pietro Consagra’s face and body jewelry in the exhibition Pietro Consagra. Ornamenti curated by Alessio de’ Navasques.

In an exhibition design that makes its way through thematic islands, we come to the 1968 sculpture Spessori in prospettiva (“Thicknesses in Perspective”), a type of Inventari (“Inventories”) in which Consagra physically projected frontal images in an extension that resulted in a visual shift.

These works foreshadowed the buildings of La Città Frontale (“The Frontal City”), conceived by Consagra in that same year as a utopian meditation on urbanism, virility, and power.

The Spessori also reappeared in the Ornamento per sopracciglio, in the form of movable rods that terminated in a star, a circle, a square, a triangle, and a hexagon, veiling the eyes but not compromising the ability to see – in fact, actually providing a symbolic indication of a change in the woman’s perspective.

The two versions of the Cache-sexe mark the end of the exhibition route: one put together by Montebello and the other (probably a prototype) encapsulating more explicitly how even a body ornament can conceal an idea of female liberation, through an object that gives pleasure with no requirement for male input.

The jewels are accompanied by precious documents collected by the Archivio Pietro Consagra in Milan, with writings, publications of the time and Ugo Mulas’ rare vintage photos.

Exhibition details
Pietro Consagra. Ornamenti
Curated by Alessio de’ Navasques
February 21 – April 5, 2024
10·Corso·Como, Project Room
Opening hours: daily, 10:30am – 7:30pm
Free admission