“Emanuele Giannelli’s exhibition at Fabbrica del Vapore represents another milestone in the path that the Municipality of Milan is pursuing to enhance contemporary artistic production within its cultural spaces. Giannelli’s works, which skillfully combine sculptural power and reflection on the present, find in Fabbrica del Vapore an ideal setting for open dialogue with the city and its public. This exhibition confirms the strategic role of Fabbrica del Vapore as a multidisciplinary cultural hub, a place of experimentation, research, and dialogue among different artistic languages.”
These are the words with which Tommaso Sacchi, Milan’s Councillor for Culture, presented Emanuele Giannelli’s exhibition at Fabbrica del Vapore.
Light meets art
A total of 55 artworks, including 18 monumental pieces, make up the exhibition “Chaos and Man. Contemporary Tension”—on view until September 29—through which Giannelli aims to exalt both the character of man and the chaos in which he lives in today’s society. The exhibition features a series of sculptures and sculptural groups such as the Korf, Sospesi, Stati d’Allerta, Mr. Arbitrium Mirrored, Monkey Tribù, The Watcher, Dizzy, and Bacteria Hunters. The core message the artist seeks to convey is that of “visionarity”: the human figures of Giannelli distract from the real world, they are caught in the same act of looking beyond, investigating the unknown. They are obsessed with technology as an intrusive force between their being and their feeling, between their reality and their imagination.
The installation design, developed following principles of human-centered design, was entrusted to Nava+Arosio Studio in Milan. Paolo Emanuele Nava and Luca Maria Arosio designed the exhibition path to actively engage the viewer, who can choose to experience the exhibition either as a pure spectator or as an integral part of the setup— becoming an active participant in the space and entering into a direct and personal dialogue with the artworks.
Special care was also devoted to the lighting design. Outdoor lighting products by PUK Lighting create luminous effects that sculpt every detail of the artworks, offering an immersive experience that, at sunset, becomes both dramatic and astonishing.
PUK Lighting’s light is never neutral. In this case, applied to sculpture, it becomes an integral part of the installations themselves—shaping, revealing and offering a unique interpretation for each piece.
We thank Nava+Arosio Studio for choosing our outdoor lighting products to illuminate the artworks. A special thanks to artist Emanuele Giannelli for his collaboration and availability.
“Chaos and Man. Contemporary Tension” by Emanuele Giannelli awaits you at Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan until September 29, 2025.
