On the occasion of the 30th edition of miart, Bernini Gallery presented “Contaminazione Contemporanea” (“Contemporary Contamination”), a project dedicated to the dialogue between historical and contemporary design, conceived as an immersive space to be both observed and experienced.

Curated by designer Daniele Daminelli, the installation unfolded as an inhabited interior — an ideal, deliberately theatrical home — enclosed within a large framed opening. The space revealed itself to the viewer almost like an image or a painting, where furniture, artworks, and light interacted within a unified composition.

For the project, Bernini Gallery entrusted Daminelli with the reinterpretation of selected furniture pieces from its historical collectible archive: the Pranzo table and sideboard by Silvio Coppola, and the Ovunque chair by Gianfranco Frattini. Characterized by glossy pink lacquered surfaces, the interventions preserved the original identity of the pieces while transforming them into “hybrid” objects, balanced between design memory and contemporary sensibility.

Completing the installation was a work by Francesco Vezzoli inspired by a portrait of Robert de Montesquiou painted by Giovanni Boldini. Enriched with tears crafted from precious stones, the artwork visually echoed the imposing drop chandelier featured within the space.

The exhibition also included iconic elements such as the Kentucky chairs and the Trilobi lamps by Carlo Scarpa.

Alongside the main environment, a second, more intimate space brought together furniture by Gianfranco Frattini and Jacopo Gardella and Ignazio Gardella with works by Terry Rodgers and Carla Accardi, creating a visual and narrative continuity between the two areas of the stand.

With “Contaminazione Contemporanea”, Bernini Gallery offered a reflection on the relationship between archive, reinterpretation, and exhibition space, transforming historical design into an immersive narrative experience.