One of the most famous and sophisticated art dealers in Milan, the soul of a space that is named after her initials (Ro) and is a must for those sniffing out design insights and ideas. Plus, a French manufacturer known for its taste for originality, for showy, but valid, products, or unconventional materials. Rossana Orlandi and Citroën are collaborating during the Salone del Mobile 2022, reinterpreting the very light Double Chevron quadricycle through the “Les AMI de Ro” (Friends of Ro) initiative.
“I called five great women of design to imagine as many configurations of the bodywork, which is fun in itself, like a stuffed animal, but…a bit of an ugly duckling”, Orlandi recounts, amused. “It’s an idea for making the city more beautiful, but also a moment for reflection around plastic and the waste that it entails. This issue is dear to me and has already been dealt with in various installations, including RoGUILTLESSPLASTIC last year”.
The AMI is, thus, adorned in gestures that recall resin shadows according to the creative Serb artist Draga Obradovic (and it is thereby called “My Way”); it looks like a composition of small tiles with floral overlapping thanks to the mosaic artist Yukiko Nagai (“Tessera”); it becomes poetic, like drawn trees, in the interpretation of the architect Ludovica Serafini, by Paloma Serafini Associati (“Oxygène”); it breaks down into an explosion of Keith-Haring style graphic art for the stylist Daniela Gerini (“Kerryon”); and it puts on white and black dots under the lens of Cristina Pettenuzzo, art director of the Paola Navone studio (“BRUM”). Taking care of the wrapping needed for the transformations is another woman: the decorator Laura Malagò.
“This car, with just the two moulds for the doors, nose, and tail, is beyond brilliant. When I saw it, though, it also filled me with a lot of friendly feeling – that’s why I preferred five women”. A humble choice: the ingeniousness would also have constituted a good reason, no?
