PRESS RELEASE

My Horrible Wonderful Clients by Michele De Lucchi Talking with Michele De Lucchi and Domitilla Dardi

On Wednesday March 16th, 2016, Michele De Lucchi and Domitilla Dardi will present the book My Horrible Wonderful Clients by Michele De Lucchi, Quodlibet editions, at the Galleria Carla Sozzani Bookstore at 6.30 pm.

Who are the horrible wonderful clients of Michele De Lucchi?

Thus he writes in his short introduction: "In the world I live in, the concept of the client is an awkward and ambiguous one, because it refers to something that's simultaneously mean and noble. The word " client" suggests shady dealings and machinations to procure a precious commodity, as well as the noxious practice of nepotistic favoritism by which, in politics especially, friends and acquaintances are favored over the more meritorious. It also brings to mind prostitution, the sacrifice of dignity for a price.... And it's unpleasant when we find ourselves referred to as " the client", and are forced to submit to some powerful supplier. But in spite of all that, we still seek out clients, and we despair when we don't have enough of them; and we also do our utmost to become clients of a brand or company In reality, the concept of the client is fundamental to our civilization, and understanding, who our "clients" are is essential to understanding our roles and responsabilities. "

Michele De Lucchi in this book piques the public’s curiosity with anecdotes about his clients and stories from his long career. From reading the book, you'll easily realize that the clients he was talking about are not so much the traditional ones – Presidents, famous industrialists or big-wheel investors – as the themes, values and ideals of the contemporary world, symbolic interlocutors that are the architect’s everyday lodestars.

Almost a novella, often surprising, this book finally sheds light on the “wonderful and horrible” unseen protagonists of De Lucchi’s work, and it does so in an unusual way: according to Domitilla Dardi, the author of the remarks at the end of the volume, this is a bona fide biography that unfolds in a series of selected images, mainly in chronological order.

Michele De Lucchi born in 1951 in and graduated in in . Prominent figure in movements like Cavart, Alchimia and Memphis, he designed lamps and furniture for the most known Italian and European companies, as , Olivetti, Alias, Unifor, Hermès, Alessi. He designed working environments and corporate identity for , , Ferrovie dello Stato, , Piaggio, Olivetti, Telecom Italia, Novartis, , Unicredit. He realized architectural projects in and worldwide, that include residential, industrial, corporate and cultural buildings, as well as curating exhibitions for the Triennale di Milano, Palazzo delle Esposizioni di Roma, the Neues Museum , the Gallerie d’Italia in Piazza Scala and the Museo Pietà Rondanini in . He has recently realized a number of projects for the city of Milan: the pavilions for (Padiglione Zero, Expo Center, Intesa Sanpaolo) and UniCredit Pavilion in piazza Gae Aulenti. In 2003 the Centre Georges Pompidou in has acquired a considerable number of his works.

Domitilla Dardi Design Historian, graduated in Art History and a PhD in History and Criticism of Architecture. Since 2010 she is Design curator at MAXXI Architecture - National Museum of XXI Century in and since 2007 Dardi teaches History of Design at the IED - Istituto Europeo di Design in Rome. She is a member of the Italian Association of Design History and of the Research Committee for the selection of the ADI - Compasso d'Oro. In 2015 she was appointed curator for the Objects section of MiArt 2016.

My Horrible Wonderful Clients by Michele De Lucchi with remarks by Domitilla Dardi 16 x 22,5 cm, pp. 160, Habitat, Quodlibet - English Edition € 22,00

Galleria Carla Sozzani Corso Como 10 – 20154 Milano, Italia tel +39 02 653531 fax +39 02 29004080 [email protected] www.galleriacarlasozzani.org