Exhibition, Italy
Slovenski etnografski muzej, 4 October – 11 November 2012

Industrial design is featured in Italy mainly on a cultural level where artisans succeeded in creating an independent space for action, building an original dialogue between their own creativity and the industrial production. This explains why today design represents an uninterrupted bond of the traditional Made in Italy craftsmanship reverted to serial production capable of guarantying a vast distribution of products and significant investments in research, particularly when concerning materials and techniques. It is the realization of an ideal scheme, typical of the cultural paradigms of the Italian know-how.

On the other hand, the concept of “sustainable design” has expanded within the international landscape, becoming an interesting subject of debate. It deals with design in the respect of the environment we live in and its objective lies in the reduction of negative effects of the industrial production through the use of renewable resources, materials, and manufacturing processes. 

From the encounter of the great traditions of craftsmanship and industry, and the respect of ecosystems, comes the idea of EcoSolutions 2. Daily Design. EcoSolutions 2 is an exhibition displaying high-quality products with a strong appeal: the lamp prototypes by Renzo Piano, the meter of sustainability created by Giorgio Di Tullio, the ice-cream display case by Makio Hasuike & Co., the heating body by Stefano Ragaini and Giorgio Di Tullio, the Lotus by Giancarlo Zema, the bench by Alessandro Lenarda, the Tavolo riccio by Arturo Montanelli, the Elettra motorcycle by Marco Nuccitelli. The exhibition takes place within the 23^rd Biennial of Design (27 September  – 11November 2012).

The exhibition EcoSolutions 2 presents a selection of the original projects from the Farnesina Design Collection developed by the Italian leading companies on ecological and sustainability issues. The Farnesina Design Collection is a project created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Italian design on an international scale as an expression of contemporary Italian creativity and an excellent point of synthesis between art and industrial production.

The exhibition in Ljubljana is hosted by the Slovene Ethnographic Museum upon the initiative of the Italian Embassy and the Italian Institute for Culture in Slovenia on the occasion of BIO.23.

It was prepared by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, curators: Renza Fornaroli and Angelo Capasso in cooperation with the Italian Institute for Culture in Slovenia and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum.