Radical: Italian Design 1965–1985

Inspired by turbulent global events in the 1960s, young Italian architects and designers aspired to develop solutions to issues rather than contribute to the “system,” unleashing an era of radicalization that would alter the course of avant-garde architectural thought and design. Coined by Germano Celant, the term “Radical” described a specific strain of practice featuring conceptual, often one-of-a-kind, handmade art and design objects that abandoned practicality and defied consumerism.

Fifty years after MoMA’s defining 1972 survey, Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, this is the first major U.S. museum exhibition to assess this now-iconic movement from a historical perspective. Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the exhibition presents nearly 70 pieces of furniture, lighting design, and architectural models from the Dennis Freedman Collection, most of which are now in the collection of the MFAH. Rare prototypes, one-of-a-kind, and limited edition works by architects, designers, and collectives such as Archizoom Associati, Lapo Binazzi, Ugo La Pietra, Alessandro Mendini, Gianni Pettena, Ettore Sottsass, Studio Alchimia, Superstudio, and others will be on view.