Mofangyan x Shanghai World Expo Culture Park

Mofangyan officially stationed in Shanghai World Expo Culture Park-former Italian Pavilion~

A large space for the whole of Italy! Experience the strong “Italian aesthetics”!

Exhibition Hall Map

Showroom Introduction

01 Italian Art of Living for the Ages

Using a thematic and chronological approach, the exhibition will focus on the key features of Italian design and lifestyle from its beginnings to the present. The exhibition begins with the early period, when Italian design was situated between crafts, early industry and the arts, and continues through to contemporary design, encompassing both the masterpieces of the masters and the radical trends of design.

The first version of the Vespa Primavera made its debut at the 1967 Milan Motorcycle Show. Revolutionizing the market with its small, agile design and lively engine, it was a huge commercial success.

1957 Fiat Nuova 500, a classic of Italian automotive design. With its compact, rounded body and distinctive round headlights, this car embodies the charm and simplicity of mid-20th century automobiles.

Radiofonografo has a vintage glamorous shape that combines incredible sound clarity with the ability to position and move the speaker in a way that best suits its surroundings for a stimulating and interesting listening experience. Half a century of uniqueness is evident in Radiofonografo's smile.

1985 Ferrari Ferrari Testarossa with classic bullet light styling, powered by a 4.9-liter horizontally-opposed 12-cylinder engine with a five-speed manual transmission, and finished in the body color Rosso Corsa with cream leather.

The Utrecht armchair created by Cassina in collaboration with TEAM WANG design interacts subtly in the space. Inspired by “yin and yang”, this collaborative collection aims to convey the spirit of opposites but harmony, dynamism and balance. It is the continuation of the legend of a 100 years old master chair.

02 Renaissance Square

“Renaissance Square” will take the audience into an interactive multimedia space that showcases the artistic achievements of the Renaissance. Through the combination of modern technology, the audience will be immersed in the cultural atmosphere of the era and enjoy the monumental masterpieces of masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

03 Genius Masterpiece

Since 1950, Italian industrial design has been characterized by a wealth of talent and masterpieces that have profoundly shaped the modern design landscape. Italian design represents not only a fusion of functionality and aesthetics, but also a crystallization of culture, innovation and passion.

Gio Ponti (1891-1979) was a renowned Italian architect, designer and artist, and one of the most influential designers of the 20th century. His Superleggera chair (designed for Cassina in 1957) is known for its minimalism and lightweight construction, using traditional Italian craftsmanship and an ash wood frame that weighs only 1.7 kilograms, exemplifying Ponti's pursuit of lightness and balance between functionality and aesthetics, making it a modern design classic.

Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002) was a famous Italian industrial designer known for his creativity and sense of humor. In collaboration with his brother Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, he focused on practicality and innovation, giving new life to everyday objects.One of his masterpieces, the Mezzadro Stool (designed in 1957), based on an agricultural tractor seat, with a seat made of steel fixed to a spring steel plate and supported by a distinctive wooden base, demonstrates industrial aesthetics and a traditional farm tool in a Modernization.

Enzo Mari (1932-2020) was a renowned Italian designer and artist known for his functional designs and clean aesthetics, with a focus on practicality and sustainability. One of his masterpieces is 16 Animali, a 1957 wooden puzzle toy consisting of 16 animal shapes, each of which is simple and elegant and can be used individually or put together as a whole. The toy is not only educational, helping children to recognize animals and develop hands-on skills, but also highly artistic, suitable for people of all ages to appreciate and collect.

Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019) was a renowned Italian designer and artist, known for his unique perspective on design and versatility, and a key representative of postmodernist design, specializing in the fusion of art, literature, and design to create culturally rich works.

One of his masterpieces is the Proust chair, designed in 1978 and inspired by the French writer Proust's novel “In Memoriam”, the Proust chair has a Rococo chair shape, with a hand-painted stipple pattern that mimics the style of the 19th-century stipple school painter, Paul Signac, and the Proust Geometrica is a reinterpretation of the original work. Proust Geometrica is a reinterpretation of the designer's original work.

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was a renowned Italian designer and architect known for his avant-garde and dramatic design style. He was a founding member of the Memphis Group, which turned the 1980s design world upside down.

One of Sottsass' masterpieces, the Carlton Bookshelf (designed in 1981), has attracted widespread attention for its distinctive geometric shapes and vibrant colors.

The bookshelf is a combination of geometric shapes and irregular layers with a strong visual impact. It is not only practical but also of high artistic value, demonstrating Sottsass' innovative exploration of form and function.