Ancient Greco-Roman sculptures adorn cities and museums all around the world, drawing in millions of onlookers who eagerly glimpse into the customs and traditions of the past. But what if these objects were reused in the present? A new exhibition at Fondazione Prada in Milan aims to do just that.
Curated by Salvatore Settis, Anna Anguissola, Denise La Monica and designed by Rem Koolhaas of OMA, Recycling Beauty is a remarkable study that seeks to show that classical works are not simply a legacy of the past, but an element that can be used to affect the present and future.
The show stems from two broader studies first conducted by Fondazione Prada in 2015. In Settis’ words, ancient heritage can be used as “a key that provides access to the multiplicity of cultures in the contemporary world.” The title of the exhibition, Recycling Beauty aptly marks the moment an ancient relic is resurrected from abandonment to reuse.
“The heart and spur of the act of reuse is often, or maybe always, ‘to insert the past into the future,’ as German historian Reinhart Koselleck contends to foresee or determine its development. The new context absorbs what it reuses, but it must (and wants to) leave it recognizable even while (or rather, precisely because) it takes possession of it,” Settis added.
To accompany the exhibition, the institution published a luxurious 560-page book that explores the research further, including 16 critical texts, a comprehensive study on the objects profiled and 356 illustrations.
Recycling Beauty is on view at Fondazione Prada’s Milan flagship until February 27.
Also on view, White Cube Paris presents Earthseed.
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