A distinctive element of the exhibition is the active participation of visitors, who will be able to contribute to the creative process by sharing and releasing their own obsessions.
Through the work of 12 creatives and designers, the exhibition Obsessive-Inventive reflects a personal and collective investigation, rooted in questions that arise from sensitivity, intuition, and passion. This exhibition explores design not merely as a pursuit of answers, but as a discipline that questions, explores, and discovers with curiosity.
Obsession as a drive for exploration and innovation
The exhibition’s title refers to a design approach that stems from obsession as a driving force for exploration and innovation. This condition, often regarded as a disorder, is here transformed into a dialogue of repetition, experimentation, and constant reflection, fueling the creative process. The inventive aspect represents both the outcome and the very essence of obsession. This persistent force becomes a catalyst for creative energy, pushing the mind to fully immerse itself in an idea, a project, or a vision. It is this almost visceral intensity that allows for the deconstruction of the familiar and its recomposition into new forms, transcending the limits of ordinary thinking.
12 ways of being, 12 obsessions materialized
“Insecurity is the path to creativity,” said the great Maestro Oliviero Toscani. “Not knowing, doing something completely unknown and unprecedented, is the only way to explore new territories and invent something.” On the other hand, Ettore Sottsass said it is the continuous circling—the endless search and research—that embodies truth,” comments JoeVelluto, the design studio curating the exhibition, founded by Andrea Maragno and Sonia Tasca.
Twelve ways of being, twelve materialized obsessions, free interpretations of attitudes oscillating between an inner state and its expression, come to life in the exhibition as twelve manifesto-objects. Each object represents the tangible expression of a personal obsession. Themes such as perception, connection, colour, repetition, and softness take shape through metal, chosen for its versatility and ability to render abstract concepts tangible. All the unprecedented objects have been realised thanks to the contribution of Diemmebi, a company specialising in the production of metal structures for furniture, and partner of the exhibition.
An exhibition and a book, enriched by contributions from Alioscia Bisceglia, musician and frontman of the Casino Royale, who describes creativity as a subtle vibration born from the deepest self, and psychiatrist Mauro Cibin, who explains how a potential disorder can have a positive and generative force, becoming both a cure and a source of creation.
“A collection where each designer presents, alongside their object, a brief note on the creative process and their personal obsession-invention,’” explains ADI President Luciano Galimberti. “Small yet significant personal torments, which find breath and form in unpredictable and poetic objects.”
A distinctive element of Obsessive-Inventive is the active participation of visitors, who will be able to contribute to the creative process by sharing and releasing their own obsessions. These will then be transformed into objects thanks to a machine learning software (A.I.) developed by the software house Uqido, partner of the exhibition. A tool that transforms thoughts into images, creating a bridge between human sensitivity and technology.
