Gufram presents CACTUSRAMA the exhibition dedicated to its iconic CACTUS at Triennale Milano
May 3, 2022
Milan Design Week
Friday 3 - Sunday 12 June 2022
Milan, 3 June 2022 - On the occasion of the Milan Design Week, Gufram celebrates one of its most iconic pieces, the CACTUS®, with a dedicated exhibition at the Impluvium of the Triennale Milano from 3 June to 12 June. CACTUSRAMA showcases 12 editions of CACTUS® and for the first time, the new collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.
Originally designed by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, CACTUS® reflects Gufram’s avant-garde mindset, its desire to push the limits of industrial design, its nonconformist experimentation linked to aesthetic, technological and material research, and its Radical Design spirit. Made in flexible polyurethane, this domestic sculpture is still produced with the original 1972 mould and entirely finished by hand, making each piece unique. The 2,165 bosses (give or take a few) that characterise the surface are finished by specialised artisans and then painted with Guflac®, Gufram’s unique patented paint that makes the polyurethane look like leather, while still allowing it to remain flexible and soft.
CACTUSRAMA brings the visitors on a journey through all the different personalities of the most recognisable and contemporary domestic sculptures to this date, showcasing the different editions of CACTUS®, and providing a 360° view of the nonconformist soul that inspired a number of creatives in the last decades.
The exhibition displays a circular carousel with eight views reflecting the different CACTUS®’ characters. The first booth displays ANOTHER GREEN CACTUS® and ANOTHER WHITE CACTUS® standing tall under a series of arches that create the optical illusion of depth while remaining faithful to the sculpture’s natural proportions. Paul Smith collaborated on the multi-color PSYCHEDELIC CACTUS®, which is set in a mirrored, bright yellow, mystified environment. ROSSOCACTUS® and NEROCACTUS® are represented respectively on black and red lacquered settings as the yin and the yang, complementary opposites. In a total-blue set, as in the original magazine’s cover, GOD is the representation of a design myth that TOILETPAPER (Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari) chose to destroy. ANDY’S PINK CACTUS®, ANDY’S YELLOW CACTUS® and ANDY’S BLUE CACTUS®, the latest limited editions in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, are placed in a silver room inspired by Andy Warhol’s Factory itself. The edition in collaboration with Ordovas Gallery is placed on a black stage with a luminescent green grid on which RADIANT CACTUS® shines through. LEBLEUCACTUS®, the homage to France and originally presented on occasion of Gufram’s return to Paris, is set in an essential wooden booth. METACACTUS® with its two colours, indicative of the shining sun’s ability to modify the ever-resistant cactus’ mantle, is represented in the desert environment where hues are muted.
EDITIONS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
ANOTHER GREEN CACTUS
ANOTHER WHITE CACTUS
PSYCHEDELIC CACTUS, 1/169 in collaboration with Paul Smith
ROSSOCACTUS, 1/500
NEROCACTUS, 1/500
GOD, 1/100 in collaboration with Toiletpaper
ANDY’s PINK CACTUS, 1/99
ANDY’S YELLOW CACTUS, 1/99
ANDY’S BLUE CACTUS, 1/99
RADIANT CACTUS, 1/44 in collaboration with Ordovas Gallery
LEBLEUCACTUS, 1/ 33
METACACTUS, 1/300
NOTES TO THE EDITORS:
“CACTUSRAMA”
Triennale di Milano
Viale Alemagna 6
20121 Milan
Exhibition from June 3rd to June 12th, 2022
11AM to 9PM (last admission, 8pm)
PRESS PREVIEW:
June 6th, 11AM - 9PM (last admission, 8pm)
