On the occasion of the Milan Design Week, Gufram celebrates the 50th Anniversary of one of its most iconic pieces, the CACTUS®, with a dedicated exhibition at the Impluvium of the Triennale Milano from 3 June to 12 June. CACTUSRAMA will showcase 12 editions of CACTUS® and for the first time will present the new collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts.
Originally designed by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, CACTUS® reflects Gufram’s avant-garde mindset, its desire to push the limits of industrial design, its nonconformist experimentation linked to aesthetic, technological and material research, and its radical design spirit. Made in flexible polyurethane, this domestic sculpture is still produced with the original 1972 mold and entirely finished by hand, making each piece unique. The 2,165 bosses (give or take a few) that characterize the surface are finished by specialized artisans and then painted with Guflac®, Gufram’s unique patented paint that makes the polyurethane look like leather, while still allowing it to remain flexible and soft.
The exhibition will display a circular carousel with eight views reflecting the different CACTUS®’ characters. The first booth displays ANOTHER GREEN CACTUS® and ANOTHER WHITE CACTUS® standing tall under a series of arches that create the optical illusion of depth while remaining faithful to the sculpture’s natural proportions. Paul Smith collaborated on the multi-color PSYCHEDELIC CACTUS®, which is set in a mirrored, bright yellow, mystified environment. ROSSOCACTUS® and NEROCACTUS® are represented respectively on black and red lacquered settings as the yin and the yang, complementary opposites. In a total-blue set, as in the original magazine’s cover, GOD is the representation of a design myth that TOILETPAPER (Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari) chose to destroy. ANDY’S PINK CACTUS®, ANDY’S YELLOW CACTUS® and ANDY’S BLUE CACTUS®, the latest limited editions in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, are placed in a silver room inspired by Andy Warhol’s Factory itself. The edition in collaboration with Ordovas Gallery is placed on a black stage with a luminescent green grid on which RADIANT CACTUS® shines through. LEBLEUCACTUS®, the homage to France and originally presented on occasion of Gufram’s return to Paris, is set in an essential wooden booth. METACACTUS® with its two colors, indicative of the shining sun’s ability to modify the ever-resistant cactus’ mantle, is represented in the desert environment where hues are muted.
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