Indeed, thanks to HostMilano, the famous names Rampello and Benini have created a project that turns hospitality into the archetype of the complex relationship built by man with the space that surrounds him when developing the relations with his fellow human beings throughout the course of history. And then water and air, the colours and raw materials of the earth, in a kaleidoscope of elements all focused on the ability to elicit emotions and provoke thoughts. This year, for the very first time, it will take to the road and be hosted in the art Biennale of Beijing.
Conceived by theatre director and set designer Davide Rampello, who first breathed life into the installation that would then be translated into a real project by architect Dante O. Benini, the exhibition space of EXIHS plays around with the dual value of the concept of hospitality – where the guest is the person hosted, but also the person who hosts – making the artistic personalities of the two authors join forces, together with Pierluigi Cerri, architect and logo designer.
And so in the new EXIHS, the floor surface evokes the earth, in different shades of green, descending towards an ideal centre dominated by the presence of an infinity pool. This is mirrored by the ceiling above, composed of a succession of light blues that represent an ascent headed skywards. And to ideally unite the two parts, a drop of water will fall from a suspended copper pipe into the pool below at regular intervals, bearing witness to the highly symbolic value of the life element, but also of the cyclical nature of time.
Then, the sides will feature four walls, all in shades of grey, built using the three materials (plus one) with which man has progressively built his own adventure in the world: wood, a living element and the material with which man built the very first houses; then stone, with which humankind leaves its longest-lasting marks; metal, which is not a raw material as it needs to be extracted, and with which man has not only brought to life the tools he uses for working and the weapons he needs for fighting wars, but also those for creating the frames of today’s large structures. And to truly represent the evolution of the human species, the fourth wall is made with something that failed to exist in the beginning: waste. A wall with a striking impact, made entirely from recycled waste, a concept that modern man has had to recover from the ways of the farming world, where everything is reused.
The concept is completed by the area dedicated to the living room and resting areas where the concept of hospitality as a space gives way to its functional and social element. Here the strongest, most characterising element will be the large back wall which will star food. It itself becomes an installation, and is used to host a selection of products from agriculture and from Italian cuisine (eggs, fruit, vegetables) in its sectors, set out according to a colour scale that creates a definite striking visual impact.
“Another theme that I had to propose with the EXIHS design was that of “hand-made Italy”. Italy is perhaps the place which, more than any other place in the world, has expressed and continues to express an ability to combine materials and forms, so creating spaces that “welcome” and therefore host, with a range of different spaces and times not found anywhere else in the world. This is why the walls of the EXIHS cube will bear phrases and short stories representing concepts in line with this theme, and small monitors continuously showing films about the typical Italian arts and trades”, commented Davide Rampello, theatre set designer and former chairman of the Triennale Foundation, as well as Director of Pavilion Zero at Expo 2015.
“The new EXIHS exhibition space represents a strong, cutting edge concept which brings a performance based on art and design, with no ulterior motives associated with sales, to HostMilano for the first time in 40 editions. With its scenery, an artist like Rampello has found an excuse to tell a story, filling in an empty space and suddenly turning it into a performance that crosses over the very idea of hospitality to become a true work of art”, concluded architect Dante O. Benini.
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