Seven cult exhibitions at EDIT Napoli 2024, Abet Laminati – All phots are by Eller Studio.
Design. Edit Napoli is an exuberant and eclectic fair for editorial and authorial design, taking over Naples, Italy, and tuning with the city’s effervescent soul. For its sixth edition, curators Domitilla Dardi and Emilia Petruccelli brought together thought-provoking design projects, exquisite crafts and site-specific installations by emerging talents and established designers. Check these seven Edit Cult exhibitions co-created with forward-thinking companies in breathtaking venues across the city.
- RELATED STORIES: Read more about Edit Napoli on Archipanic.
ALPI at EDIT Napoli 2024.
Located at the epicentre of the Mediterranean Sea, Naples was forged by cultural pluralism. “With EDIT, we have been working in this direction since the first edition, putting different realities in dialogue with one another.” Explains Domitilla Dardi. “We have always believed in the city and seen its potential as a design destination.” Adds Emilia Petruccelli. “After five editions, Edit Napoli has proved its maturity: this year’s events, companies and initiatives which gravitate around it prove it.”
These cult exhibitions truly reflect Naples’ spirit, offering visitors a chance to explore major monuments and museums, as well as unexpected venues often closed to the public.
THiRTYONE Design Studio at EDIT Napoli 2024.
Naples is 1,000 colours, sang Neapolitan hero Pino Daniele. From here, Matteo Ragni and Giulio Iacchetti, art directors of surface material company Abet Laminati, created an installation on the rooftop terrace of a historic building with stunning views of the bay and the volcano Vesuvius. Silhouettes of hanging clothes made with the company’s products paid tribute to the city’s famed urbanscape, while deck chairs allowed visitors to relax and sunbathe.
Abet Laminati at EDIT Napoli 2024.
Parthenope, Naples’ original name, is a mermaid who shored to the Neapolitan Gulf to die after laying an egg upon which the Castel dell’Ovo castle was built. Allegra Hicks interpreted the legend to create an installation at the Ipogeo dei Cristallini. The stunning 2,400-year-old Ancient Greek burial site has recently opened to the public in the working-class district of Sanità. Like in the myth, the egg is hidden in the foundation of a historic building in the heart of Naples.
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During EDIT Napoli, the historic Opera house Teatro San Carlo opened to reveal the sets designed for Giuseppe Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra by Kengo Kuma for bespoke covering material manufacturer Alcantara. The Architecture Maestro entitled his creation Shiwa Shiwa, meaning crease-furrow, to describe a Japanese concept relative to the curvilinear development found in nature and its elusiveness. “With its mutable vaultings, perpetually in motion, textile waves reflect the action of the opera and a totalising artwork in its own right,” Alcantara explains.
Kengo Kuma x Alcantara at EDIT Napoli 2024.
At the Royal Mineralogy Museum, wood decorative surfaces company ALPI presented a site-specific installation featuring striking collaborations with Konstantin Grcic, Alessandro Mendini, Angelo Magiarotti, and more. The pieces dialogue with the crystalline forms of the natural minerals in the prestigious museum. “We work on the borderline between two worlds – the natural and the artificial. On the one hand, we create wood veneers. On the other one, we make veneers that do not exist in nature.” Set design by Piero Lissoni.
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In the ‘70s, Neapolitan architect, designer, and professor Filippo Alison convinced Italian design company Cassina to reissue iconic furniture by Art Deco architecture and design master Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The collection, drawings and narrative were displayed at the Teatro di Corte in Naples’ Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito. Visitors could also explore the Palace’s halls and exhibitions with the Edit Napoli ticket.
Cassina at EDIT Napoli 2024.
Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio is a unique venue. Beneath the church, you can discover an Aedan world linked to the Neapolitan cult of unknown souls begging for salvation, the so-called Anime Pezzentelle. Here, Caterina Roppo has created a textile installation inspired by the theme of breathing for high-end furniture design company Incalmi. A moment in time is galvanised and solidified in sinuous forms that seem to move continuously through space.
Caterina Roppo x Incalmi at EDIT Napoli 2024.
THiRTYONE Design Studio explored Man-Made vs Nature-Made design with the NEURO-PHILIA exhibition at the Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri. A hand-crafted paper installation reflects the architecture of an AI digital cloud. Crafts explore our brain’s emotional patterns within a mirrored room. The molecules beyond happiness are stitched and woven; spun threads compose a graph that maps the interplay of emotions in the Beatles’ ‘Across the Universe’ song analysed by Artificial Intelligence.
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Seven cult exhibitions at Edit Napoli 2024: all photos are by Serena Heller, courtesy of Edit Napoli.
Cassina at EDIT Napoli 2024.
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