VAPOR FACTORY

October 4 – 23, 2025
Ex Cisterne
Via Giulio Cesare Procaccini 4 Milan

The Vapor Factory in Milan hosted WHEN I WAS A DESIGNER, the first major retrospective dedicated to Franco Perrotti. More than just a retrospective, the exhibition is a journey through time and space: two floors, 1100 sqm, six thematic stations, and a constellation of works, prototypes, installations, and objects that narrate the transition from designer to artist, from craft to vision. It was a rare opportunity to deeply understand an author who has been a leading figure in Italian design, working with companies like Tecno, Poltrona Frau, Moroso, Faram, Airon, and later founding independent workshops like Rude Bravo and Officine d’Essai, pushing beyond the boundaries of functionality towards an aesthetic of reflection, irony, and gesture.

The exhibition, curated by Fortunato D’Amico, also offered immersive experiences, such as a video installation featuring works by Bruna Rotunno, Ernani Paterra, and Enrico Di Nenno. It was enriched by a program of collateral events open to the public, including conferences and meetings designed to delve into the themes of the relationship between art, design, and contemporary society. A journey in six stations and a shared vision
The exhibition path consists of six stages, six monographic “stations”, each conceived as a refuge of memories, prototypes, notes, models, objects, and visions. These stages tell the story of an evolving thought, paying tribute to the five brands that Franco Perrotti selected and collaborated with most during his career: TECNO, POLTRONA FRAU, MOROSO, FARAM, AIRON.
A special section is dedicated to RUDE BRAVO, the design workshop born in Abruzzo as a result of the stubborn and determined will of Franco Perrotti, together with Mario Mariano andTanino Liberatore. Rude Bravo represents the most radical and poetic expression of a design idea that asserts the visionary power of the project as a “well-dreamed dreambefore becoming sophisticated marketing”. The transition from design to art.

On the ground floor of the exhibition, a new scenario: open spaces containing other stories, other visions, and other contents. The protagonist of this second exhibition moment is also the great Dissuader. The “DISSUADER” is a metaphor embodied in a gigantic and allegorical pigeon, the result of great manual work and much technology. Presented in the exhibition in its steel version, but also in castings, aluminum, ceramic, resin, the Dissuader becomes an emblem of the complex relationship between human beings and between man and the natural environment. It is with works like these that Franco Perrotti began to engage with the colossal objects in which his research blossoms today, transferring the management and criteria of a design project into a work of art. Perhaps – the visitor will wonder – are we entering another dimension, another narrative? When I Was a Designer… Exactly.

A room of the exhibition was dedicated to a video installation where the walls displayed images of videos produced by photographer and director Bruna Rotunno, photographer and director Ernani Paterra, and photographer Enrico Di Nenno.
On the occasion of the exhibition, a volume/catalog curated by Fortunato D’Amico was presented, published by Moebius Edizioni. In Italian and English, the volume features critical essays by Francesca Bogliolo, Valentina Lonati, and Elisa Massoni.

Curator: Fortunato D’Amico
Exhibition concept: Franco Perrotti

Critical texts:
Francesca Bogliolo
Valentina Lonati
Elisa Massoni

Featuring:
Maria Fratelli

Alessandra Litta Buttè

Catalog: MOEBIUS Edizioni
Graphics: Riccardo Zanette, Riccardo Marrone LKM
Illustrations: Giovanni Zanette
Images generated with AI: Daniela Pellegrini

Exhibition setup: Beside Arts
Press office: Studio Battage
Social media: Artuu Magazine Milan

Photos and videos:
Bruna Rotunno, Alessandro Beretta
Enrico Di Nenno
Video and Editing: Ernani Paterra, WPS Multimedia

Thanks to:
Paolo Carroni
Giuseppe Di Giovanni
Enrico Di Nenno
Fratelli Di Nocco
Mario Mariano
Rossana Mariano