Davide Groppi at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona
Davide Groppi reinterpreted the light of the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona with the event “DENTRO FUORI” in a vibrant and harmonious interaction. Mies van der Rohe’s minimalism has been a huge source of inspiration in Davide Groppi’s vision of light. The purity of the lines, the ability to synthesise and subtract are the basis of the Euclidean concepts (point, line, plane) on which Davide has based his alphabet of light.
The event, “DENTRO FUORI”, visible last October on the occasion of Barcelona Design Week 2024, evoked an art without spatial limits, in which inside and outside dialogued with fluid continuity. Davide Groppi’s light is immersive and evocative, breathing in unison with the minimalist harmony of the exhibition spaces. “DENTRO FUORI” has been a unique spatial experience, which synthesised functionality, aesthetics and technology, offering a rational and essential, suggestive and conceptually coherent vision. A vision told in the talk between Davide Groppi and Maurici Ginés, the Spanish designer and founder of Artec Studio with whom the company collaborates for the creation of lighting and product design projects. The intuition of Mies van der Rohe, father and founder of contemporary architecture, finds its key elements in a rational and minimalist approach that uses the dialogue between full and empty spaces, the subtraction of elements, the elegance of proportions, the purity of lines and the transparency of glass to forge a new aesthetic. The choice of innovative materials such as glass and steel allows for the creation of new relationships between the various environments, forming a language made of dynamism and asymmetrical balance, in a space without boundaries.
Davide Groppi’s lamps are the result of a continuous work of synthesis and subtraction, a complex simplicity capable of maximizing the magic of light. A light that creates full and empty spaces, discovers hidden corners and unexpected details. A light that is never neutral, always the protagonist, rational but also seductive, that outlines changing scenarios and suggests hypotheses of possible magic.
A continuous dialogue between the fundamental states of light, direct, indirect and diffuse, in which all emotional possibilities are explored, placing the Euclidean idea of point, line and plane at the centre of the project. In the spaces of the Mies Van der Rohe Foundation, Davide Groppi’s vision finds its ideal fulfillment, making light resonate with the pure lines of the architectural landscape, creating reflections and transparencies, highlighting or subtracting elements, in a continuous emotional dialectic.
An ideal and functional alphabet to write words, anagrams and, ultimately, stories of light.
*Organized in collaboration with the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the Italian Consulate in Barcelona, and with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Barcelona and ADI-FAD.
