
Courtesy of Fondazione Prada
Damien Hirst’s "Lost Love" is part of the inaugural “Trittico” exhibit.
By Adam H. Graham
Sep 22, 2015
From the October 2015 issue
Photo by Luca Sofri/Il Post
Galleria Sud, a former laboratory, hosts temporary exhibitions at Fondazione Prada.
On the gritty industrial outskirts of Milan, Miuccia Prada, Rem Koolhaas, and Wes Anderson have dreamed up the contemporary home of Fondazione Prada.
Chances are your taxi driver won’t know where to go when you say, “Fondazione Prada, per favore.” He may Google it, then look at you confused. This high-concept complex is deeply hidden in Milano’s sun-bleached, industrial Largo Isarco neighborhood, which seems a more likely place for someone to dispose of a body than for a major fashion house to exhibit contemporary art.
When you pull up, the only confirmation that you’ve arrived is a white neon sign glowing above the ruins of what was once the Società Italiana Spiriti distillery. There’s no visible ticket office—just a vast, empty courtyard and a cluster of oddly shaped buildings. Outside of one, a staircase seems to lead nowhere. But that’s all part of why you come here: Exploring the compound is an absolutely disorienting—and intriguing—visual experience.
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