Curated by Fortunato D’Amico, the exhibition presents Franco Perrotti’s vision through a path that unfolds across the two floors of the exhibition venue, covering a total of 1,100 sqm, offering the public a visual, conceptual, and emotional journey into his creative process—always deeply connected to the craftsmanship of gesture and the reflection on the purpose of the object in its relationship with humans.

This first retrospective dedicated to Perrotti in the city of Milan, where it all began for him, aims to highlight his complete journey and his critical vision toward design for its own sake and art that is purely aesthetic.

The path begins on the first floor of the factory, where visitors are invited to follow a route consisting of six stages—six monothematic “stations,” each conceived as a sanctuary of memories, prototypes, notes, models, objects, and visions. These stages narrate the story of an evolving thought, paying tribute to the five brands that Franco Perrotti has most closely collaborated with throughout his career: TECNO SPA, POLTRONA FRAU, MOROSO, FARAM, AIRON.

A special section is dedicated to RUDE BRAVO, the design workshop born in Abruzzo from the stubborn and determined will of Franco Perrotti, together with Mario Mariano and Tanino Liberatore. Rude Bravo represents the most radical and poetic expression of a design idea that affirms the visionary power of the project as a “well-dreamed dream before becoming sophisticated marketing.” This marks the transition from design to art.

The journey continues and concludes on the ground floor, where a new scenario opens up: open spaces housing other stories, visions, and content. The protagonist of this second exhibition phase is also the monumental Dissuader. The “DISSUADER” is a metaphor embodied in a pigeon—gigantic and allegorical—resulting from extensive manual work and advanced technology. Displayed in the exhibition in its steel version, but also in castings, aluminum, ceramic, and resin, the Dissuader becomes an emblem of the complex relationships among human beings and between humans and the natural environment.

It is with works like these that Perrotti began engaging with colossal objects, which now define his research, 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… Indeed.