The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the

Triennale di Milano The Triennale di Milano is a museum of art and design in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the , built between 1931 and 1933 to designs by Giovanni Muzio and financed by Antonio Bernocchi and his ...

Museum in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy.

History

The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architecture and industrial design event. The first five editions took place in

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. In 1933 the exhibition was relocated to Milan and the format was changed to a triennial basis. The designated venue was the new Palazzo dell’Arte designed by architect

Giovanni Muzio Giovanni Muzio (12 February 1893 – 21 May 1982) was an Italian architect. Muzio was born and died in Milan. He was closely associated with the Novecento Italiano artists group. Biography The son of Virginio Muzio, an accomplished architec ...

, featuring

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...

Torre Branca Torre Branca ("Branca Tower") is a steel-frame panoramic tower designed by architect Giò Ponti in 1933, located in Parco Sempione, the main city park of Milan, Italy. The top of the tower is a panoramic point whose view, on a clear day, may encom ...

. The Triennial was recognised by the

Bureau of International Expositions The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos, global expos or world expos) falling under the j ...

(BIE) in 1933. With Ponti and artist

Mario Sironi Mario Sironi (May 12, 1885 – August 13, 1961) was an Italian Modernism, Modernist artist who was active as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, and designer. His typically somber paintings are characterized by massive, immobile forms. Biography ...

at the helm, the 5th Triennale expanded its field to visual art, with mural paintings made by artists such as

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( ; ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the art movement, which profoundly influenced the surrealists. His ...

Massimo Campigli Massimo Campigli (; born Max Ihlenfeld, 4 July 189531 May 1971) was an Italian painter and journalist. Biography He was born in Berlin, Germany, but spent most of his childhood in Florence, Italy. His family moved to Milan in 1909, and here he ...

and

Carlo Carrà Carlo Carrà (; February 11, 1881 – April 13, 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading figure of the Futurist movement that flourished in Italy during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to his many paintings, he wrote a number ...

. Other artists who exhibited their work at the Triennial over the years include

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...

Enrico Baj Enrico Baj (31 October 1924 – 16 June 2003) was an Italian artist and writer on art. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, and sculptures but especially collage. He was close to the surrealist and dada mo ...

Arturo Martini Arturo Martini (1889–1947) was a leading Italian sculptor between World War I and II. He moved between a very vigorous (almost ancient Roman) classicism and modernism. He was associated with public sculpture in fascist Italy, but later renoun ...

, Gio Pomodoro,

Alberto Burri Alberto Burri (12 March 191513 February 1995; ) was an Italian visual artist, painter, sculptor, and physician based in Città di Castello. He is associated with the matterism of the European informal art movement and described his style as ...

Mario Merz Mario Merz (1 January 1925 – 9 November 2003) was an Italian artist, and husband of Marisa Merz. Life Born in Milan, Merz started drawing during World War II, when he was imprisoned for his activities with the ''Giustizia e Libertà'' ant ...

Giulio Paolini Giulio Paolini (born 5 November 1940) is an Italian artist associated with both Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. Biography Paolini was born in Genoa. After a childhood spent in Bergamo, he moved with his family to Turin where he still lives today ...

and

Michelangelo Pistoletto Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933) is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject mat ...

. The Triennial was discontinued three times in 1940, 1973 and 1996.

List of triennials

References

External links

A blog article with many images from several triennials
Triennial events World's fairs in Milan 1923 establishments in Italy Art festivals in Italy Art exhibitions in Italy Contemporary art exhibitions Culture in Milan Recurring events established in 1923 Festivals established in 1923 Arts organisations based in Italy Festivals in Milan {{art-hist-stub