Operation FZ
5 December 2008 - 8 January 2009
Zanotta showroom
Piazza del Tricolore, 2
20129 Milan
tel: 02 76016445
Fabrica, the Benetton Group's communication research centre, and Zanotta, a leading firm in the history of Italian design, celebrate Christmas 2008 together with Operation FZ, a range of furnishing solutions and decorative objects for a home that mixes tradition with modernity. Housed in Zanotta's Milan showroom, Operation FZ showcases a number of furnishing accessories from the renowned Zanotta collection, as well as several homeware ranges designed by Fabrica's young artist-researchers for brands such as Secondome and Bosa Ceramiche. A bold encounter between a firm like Zanotta, rigorous yet open to experimentation, and Fabrica, an international testing lab of new design languages.
Fabrica for Secondome
There is a fusion of past and present in the ingeniously witty glass collection which Fabrica designed for the Secondome gallery in Rome. Fabrica's designers gave new forms and functions to everyday articles which had fallen out of use. Fourteen exquisite pieces, all of mouth-blown glass, including a cake dome, roast-meat dome, cheese dome, a bon-bon bowl, a decanter, vases, and limited-edition sculptures. (Designers: Valentina Carretta, Becka Citron, Ben Cabelli, Rita Botelho / Fabrica).
Fabrica for Bosa Ceramiche
The ceramic collection is composed of homeware and tableware articles, such as “Bibelots”, objects that were once a common part of our everyday lives, such as a VHS cassette, an old radio or telephone (Designer: Sam Baron/Fabrica); the “Tea Time Collection”, a rather unusual tea set and trays (Designer: Valentina Carretta/Fabrica); and “Design Slices”, a dinner service composed of four classic pieces with a simple slice cut from the edge which is painted silver, giving the set a very new, modern look. (Designer: Sam Baron/Fabrica).
Dinner Time / photo by Fabrica
Fabrica is Benetton’s communication research centre, created in 1994 from Benetton’s cultural heritage. It is located in Italy, near Venice, in a complex which Tadao Ando restored and enlarged. Fabrica’s challenge is both an innovative and international one. It is a way of marrying culture and industry, using a form of communication which no longer relies only on the usual kinds of advertising, but conveys industrial culture and the company’s intellect through other media: design, music, cinema, photography, publishing, the Internet.
Zanotta was founded in 1954 and is acknowledged as one of the chief protagonists in the history of Italian design. Guided by founder Aurelio Zanotta's insight and extraordinary business flair, the firm's iconic products introduced innovations in design and technology and were an international success from the Sixties on. Zanotta has always worked with internationally renowned architects and designers such as Achille Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti, Marco Zanuso, Ettore Sottsass, Joe Colombo, Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, Giuseppe Terragni, Carlo Mollino, DePas-D’Urbino-Lomazzi, Enzo Mari, Bruno Munari, Alfredo Haberli, Werner Aisslinger, Ross Lovegrove, etc. The numerous awards won by Zanotta products include as many as three Compasso d’Oro. Zanotta's product range is currently sold in over sixty countries around the world.
Secondome is a design gallery which opened in November 2006 in the heart of Rome. It is located in Palazzo Scapucci, a 16th-century building protected by the Fine Arts authority. Secondome's modern designer articles create a striking foil for their ancient architectural surroundings.
Bosa Ceramiche
Founded 35 years ago by Italo Bosa, Bosa Ceramiche produces designer ceramics made by hand and decorated with precious metals, like gold and platinum, in the firm's workshop-factory in Borso del Grappa, northern Italy. Research and innovation are the firm's strong points and have made it a leader in designer ceramics in Italy and worldwide. Bosa Ceramiche has a long history of fruitful working partnerships with internationally famous designers.
Bibelots Phone / photo by Fabrica
.Funny Fauna / photo by Fabrica
Floating Flora / photo by Fabrica
Martian / photo by Fabrica
Slices of Design / photo by Fabrica
Upside Down / photo by Fabrica
Tea Time / photo by Fabrica
OPERATION FZ
Fabrica and Zanotta together, merging classicism and experimentation
5 December 2008 - 8 January 2009
Zanotta showroom
Piazza del Tricolore, 2
20129 Milan
