Echoes and Origins: Italian Interwar Design

September 27, 2013–May 18, 2014
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

When the Fascist party seized power in Italy following the First World War, the regime set out to establish a unified political identity—one looking to the future while maintaining reverence for tradition. Echoes and Origins: Italian Interwar Design explored how Italy’s designers, artisans, manufacturers, and corporations helped cultivate a style that embodied the regime’s concept of Italianità (Italianness), glorifying both the Roman Empire and the spirit of modernity. The works—furniture, ceramics, glass, graphic and product design, and industrial objects—comprised a portrait of modern Italy, highlighting the dialogue between identity and aesthetics that characterized this critical period of its history.

Echoes and Origins was part of Rebirth of Rome, a series of presentations at The Wolfsonian highlighting art and design in interwar Italy. It was made possible by the Italian Consulate General Miami, the Italian Cultural Institute New York, the United States Consular Agency Genoa, and the Wolfsoniana–Fondazione Regionale per la Cultura e lo Spettacolo in Genoa, to mark the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, with additional support from Gucci, Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A., the Poltrona Frau Group Miami, the Funding Arts Network, the Leon Levy Foundation, Aprile SpA, and Ansaldo Energy Inc. The Wolfsonian also thanks Mitchell Wolfson, Jr., Marcello Cambi in Genoa, and the Wolfsoniana–FRCS for generous loans to the project.