Kia Design Presents Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions at Milan Design Week 2025

Al Bawaba

14-04-2025

Kia Design has introduced the theme of its Milan Design Week 2025 exhibition, Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed artists Philippe Parreno and A.A. Murakami (Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves).This year's exhibition continues Kia's commitment to cultural exchange and creative exploration. Focusing on the brand's evolving transformation – rooted in its core cultural values and creative identity – the event sparks conversations that challenge and inspire both Kia Design and the global creative community.By bringing together visionary artists such as Philippe Parreno and A.A. Murakami, alongside Kia Design and other prominent members of the global creative community, the exhibition aims to offer an interactive experience where visitors can engage with the ideas, philosophies, and expressions that shape contemporary creativity.Since its first participation in Milan Design Week in 2023, Kia Design has sought to support art and culture by providing a platform for artists to express their interpretations of the brand's design philosophy, 'Opposites United'. Participating artists collaborate on experimental approaches, expressing the 'Opposites United' theme through their works or performances, creating resonant experiences for visiting audiences.The EclipseA central stage for performances and talk sessions, 'The Eclipse' features tiered seating reminiscent of the Colosseum, with content projected onto a layered system of shades. In this space, the audience is encouraged to become active participants, immersed in the content and interpreting it subjectively, rather than simply remaining as observers.Eclipses have held significant scientific, religious, and cultural meanings throughout human history. These celestial events have inspired us to dream, look beyond our own existence, predict the future and advance our technologies.Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions uses the space to embody the story of Kia Design, and its ambition to evolve relentlessly, through dramatic staging and spatial transformations. The audience serves as witnesses to a rare and exceptional moment, joining as active participants at each instance of delight and contemplation.Philippe ParrenoOne of the most internationally influential French artists of the last 25 years, Philippe Parreno works across a diverse range of media, including film, music, sculpture, drawing, and performance.Adopting languages and codes from a variety of media, Parreno's work questions the boundary between reality and fiction, exploring the space where the real and imagined intersect. Parreno encourages audiences to reconsider how they engage with the real and the imagined, prompting a deeper reflection on the nature of experience itself.MarqueeLocated at the exhibition's entrance, Parreno's Marquee exemplifies the cultural vanguard by revitalizing the historical marquee concept in the context of contemporary art. By blurring the lines between architecture, design, and performance, the work transcends its origins as a cinema frontage, with the text-free work instead focusing on light and form.Ephemeral light, spatial interaction, and performative illumination shape a dynamic experience, elevating the marquee from a mere object to a reflection on the evolving interplay of past and present.A.A.MurakamiEstablished in 2020 by Azusa Murakami and Alexander Groves, A.A. Murakami creates immersive installations that blend science and art. The ongoing Ephemeral Tech series combines innovative technology with ethereal materials and states of matter to create sensory experiences and unnatural phenomena.A.A. Murakami's work has been featured at the Venice Art and Architecture Biennales and is part of permanent collections at MoMA in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Vitra Design Museum in Germany, and M+ in Hong Kong. Murakami and Groves' experimental design practice, Studio Swine, has also received awards at major global festivals, including Cannes.The CaveA.A. Murakami's The Cave fuses primal and technological elements to highlight humanity's enduring creative impulse. A large-scale automaton with robotic limbs, representing cutting-edge technology, interacts with ancient instruments crafted from replicas of ancient animal bones. The juxtaposition represents relentless exploration, with the limbs emerging from a pool of water before activating bellows to blow air through the instruments, creating an ethereal soundscape that fills the space.The immersive red light and still water environment push sensory boundaries, reflecting the work's concept as a meditation on life's defiance of entropy and sparking intellectual curiosity. The installation poses profound questions about the endurance of human creativity and meaning in the face of existential uncertainty.Through its ephemeral performance, The Cave underscores A.A. Murakami's pursuit of capturing a unique moment – not by replicating the past or present, but by relentlessly combining and reimagining elements to forge a new path.Beyond The HorizonBeyond the Horizon is the second work by A.A. Murakami featured within Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions. The display showcases giant, amorphous bubbles emerging from hanging automata and transforming into clouds. Pushing the boundaries of traditional sculpture and installation, the work explores ephemeral, performative, and interactive dimensions. The use of mechanical devices to create organic, ever-changing forms reflects a willingness to experiment with unconventional materials and technologies, a hallmark of creative risk-taking. The unpredictable nature of the bubbles – sometimes random, sometimes synchronized – introduces an element of chance, embracing the inherent risk in working with dynamic, uncontrolled systems.The immersive environment, with its elevated walkway, hazy atmosphere, and floor covered with a thin layer of water to make it reflective, further amplifies the viewer's experience, creating a sense of wonder and encouraging interaction with the artwork's unpredictability.
Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions runs from April 7-13 at Museo della Permanente in Milan, Italy.