Molteni Museum presents Museum 2D
On 2 March 2025, the Molteni Museum unveils Museum 2D, an exhibition marking its 10th anniversary and celebrating the long-standing intersection of design and communication at the Molteni Group. Curated by Ron Gilad, this exhibition is part of Milano MuseoCity 2025 and explores the visual legacy of Molteni&C, UniFor, Dada, and Citterio through a compelling collection of graphic materials. Museum 2D offers an in-depth look at how the company’s creative collaborations have shaped its identity and global presence over the decades.
The exhibition showcases a wide selection of historical photographs, advertisements, catalogues, and brochures that trace the evolution of the Group’s graphic design and communication. Museum 2D delves into the creative process behind these iconic contents, offering a rare glimpse into design sketches, catalogue pages, and advertising layouts.
A special section highlights the evolution of the Molteni Group’s brand identity, including the famous kite from the 1978 Salone del Mobile, now the symbol of the exhibition connecting the Molteni Museum in Giussano with the UniFor space in Milano through an installation by Ron Gilad for Milano MuseoCity week.
From the early graphics designed by Unimark International – Bob Noorda and Franco Mirenzi – to the stylistic revolution introduced by Pierluigi Cerri, the exhibition explores key collaborations with communication agencies, including FCA/SabbatiniBaldoniPanzeri, which contributed to the iconic UNIFOR. Il Pensiero Mobile campaign. It also highlights the Compasso d’Oro award, won in 1994 for coordinated brand identity.
The exhibition creates a dialogue between past and present, linking the brand’s graphic heritage to its most recent evolution and future vision under the artistic direction of Studio Klass. This narrative comes to life through a curated display of images by early photographers such as Gabriele Basilico and Mario Carrieri, as well as contemporary voices like DSL_Studio and Alberto Strada,
alongside catalogues, books, posters, invitations, promotional items, and multimedia projects. The exhibition also retraces the evolution of logos, from Felix Humm’s work for Molteni&C to Pierluigi Cerri’s design for UniFor, and the Molteni Group’s visual identity system developed by Nicola-Matteo Munari. The layout, conceived by Ron Gilad, integrates iconic UniFor products, including Naòs tables (designed by Pierluigi Cerri), customised to display archival material, Mix chairs (designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa) and the CF bookshelf for the library section of the Museum. The RP partition system (by Renzo Piano) defines the exhibition space and serves as a backdrop for the screening of archival advertising videos.
A key feature of the exhibition is the Molteni Theatre, a multimedia hub that has been a vital part of the Museum since its opening. Designed by Patricia Urquiola in 2006, the space, recently renovated by Ron Gilad houses a rich archive of films, documentaries, and videos, showcasing the work of leading designers and architects. The theatre also includes a selection of historic pieces from the Molteni&C and UniFor collections, offering visitors an opportunity to explore the company’s design history from both a contemporary and retrospective perspective.
As part of Milano MuseoCity 2025, Museum 2D is an immersive celebration of the power of design and communication, offering a unique insight into the Molteni Group’s enduring legacy of quality and innovation.
