Photo Exhibition at ADI Museum Features Lorenzo Capellini
The Biennale di Venezia, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art events, experienced a bold transformation under the presidency of Carlo Ripa di Meana between 1974 and 1978. Today, those groundbreaking years come to life once again in Milan, through a powerful photo exhibition by renowned photographer Lorenzo Capellini. Held at the ADI Design Museum, the exhibition takes visitors on a visual journey through one of the most radical and politically engaged periods in the Biennale’s history.
Promotional banner for the Biennale on the Accademia Bridge, 1974. Photo by Lorenzo Capellini
Carlo Ripa di Meana: Visionary Leader of the Biennale di Venezia
A man of noble origins and progressive ideals, Carlo Ripa di Meana left a profound mark on the world of contemporary art. Long before leading the Biennale di Venezia, he was already active in intellectual and political circles. In the 1950s, he directed the International Union of Students’ magazine in Prague. By the 1960s, working as an editor in Milan at Rizzoli, he connected with some of Italy’s most influential cultural figures: Gae Aulenti, Vico Magistretti, Paolo Grassi, and Marco Zanuso, among others.
Ripa di Meana’s commitment to justice and political activism was unwavering. In 1971, he was among the signatories of the famous open letter accusing police commissioner Luigi Calabresi in connection with the death of Giuseppe Pinelli. This activist spirit became central to his vision of the Biennale di Venezia, turning the art exhibition into a platform for cultural, social, and political dialogue.
Lorenzo Capellini, Emilio Vedova, 1978
A Photographer’s Tribute: Lorenzo Capellini at the ADI Design Museum
The exhibition B74-78. A Photographic Tale by Lorenzo Capellini pays homage to the radical Biennali organized under Ripa di Meana’s leadership. Capellini, an esteemed photographer, captured the spirit and essence of those years with striking black-and-white and color photographs that bring viewers face to face with the revolution that shook the contemporary art world.
Hosted at the ADI Design Museum in Milan, the photo exhibition revisits key events from those seminal years. The project follows a 2023 initiative at Ca’ Giustinian, after the acquisition of the Lorenzo Capellini Archive, placing the photographer in the role of an almost prophetic witness to the cultural shifts led by the Biennale.
Lorenzo Capellini, the Venice Biennale
From “Macchine Celibi” to “Freedom for Chile”: The Power of Art and Protest
One of the standout projects from the Ripa di Meana years is the 1975 exhibition Macchine Celibi, curated by Vittorio Gregotti and Harald Szeemann. Presented at the Magazzini del Sale, the installation explored automated, self-sufficient machines inspired by Marcel Duchamp—a meditation on the relationship between humans, machines, and artistic creation.
The same year saw the proposal to revitalize the Mulino Stucky, an old industrial building on the Giudecca island, reimagining the Biennale as a living lab of architectural and urban innovation.
The exhibition also revisits the 1974 edition titled Freedom for Chile, dedicated entirely to denouncing the Pinochet regime. Through music, painting, photography, and literature, the Biennale stood in solidarity with the Chilean people, using art as a vehicle of protest and a symbol of democratic resilience.
Lorenzo Capellini, Construction of the Container for Proposals for the Molino Stucky
by Mario Ceroli, St. Mark’s Square, 1975
Spain’s Cultural Rebirth and the Rise of Arte Povera
The 1976 Biennale highlighted Spain’s cultural reawakening after the fall of Franco’s dictatorship. That year’s theme, Ambiente, Partecipazione, Strutture Culturali, set the tone for inclusive and participatory contemporary art. It was also the year Germano Celant curated the groundbreaking exhibition Ambiente/Arte. Dal Futurismo alla Body Art, which traced the evolution of spatial and environmental engagement in art, from early 20th-century Futurism to contemporary Body Art.
Building on these ideas, the 1978 edition turned its focus to the relationship between art and nature. Themes such as ecology, sustainability, and the natural environment were explored through multidisciplinary works that continue to resonate today.
Lorenzo Capellini, Luciana Savignano during rehearsals, 1975
Theater, Music, and the 1977 Biennale of Dissent
Capellini’s photographs also celebrate the Biennale’s vibrant theater and music programs, curated by the legendary Luca Ronconi. These years saw the participation of pioneering figures such as Bob Wilson, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba and the Odin Teatret, and Ariane Mnouchkine’s Théâtre du Soleil.
However, perhaps the most defining moment of Ripa di Meana’s tenure was the Biennale del Dissenso in 1977. This edition gave voice to dissident artists and intellectuals from Eastern Europe, who used the Biennale di Venezia to protest repression in their home countries. It marked a unique convergence of contemporary art, activism, and geopolitics, showcasing the Biennale’s role not only as an artistic institution but also as a space of resistance.
Revisiting a Revolutionary Era of Contemporary Art
Through Lorenzo Capellini’s lens, the photo exhibition at the ADI Design Museum offers a rare glimpse into a transformative era in the history of the Biennale di Venezia. More than a historical recollection, it invites us to reflect on the power of art as a social force, a political statement, and a collective memory.
In an age where contemporary art continues to challenge conventions, the legacy of Carlo Ripa di Meana feels more relevant than ever. The Milan exhibition is not just a tribute to a visionary president or a talented photographer—it is a call to remember how art can shape history, confront power, and imagine new futures.
