The exhibition seeks to present, in anthological form, Franco Grignani’s life’s work and deals in particular with his research into the theme of polysensoriality. Three fields that he explored form the core around which the exhibition layout unfolds: photography, graphics and design, art.

From 17 February 2019 to 15 September 2019, the m.a.x. museo at Chiasso (Switzerland) will be offering the opportunity to discover the complexity of this artist, graphic designer and photographer. On display will be photographic images, pictorial works, logos and original materials linked to graphic design, advertising and designer products. The exhibition is curated by Mario Piazza and Nicoletta Ossanna Cavadini.

Through a rich selection of works and archive material – in part unpublished – the exhibition retraces Franco Grignani’s artistic evolution, from his initial experiments in photography to his advertising graphics and Optical Art.

The exhibition at the m.a.x. museo is also intended to bring out the close ties between Franco Grignani and the numerous young Swiss graphic designers who saw their experience in his Milan office as a true laboratory for learning and professional training. In this respect, an interesting artistic “direct line” with Switzerland was created and consolidated over the years along the Basel-Zurich-Milan axis.

The exhibition is the outcome of research conducted in the private Archives of Manuela Grignani Sirtoli, the Lanfranco Colombo Fund owned by the Lombardy Region and kept at the MUFOCO – Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea (Cinisello Balsamo-Milan) and in specific collections held by the AIAP Associazione italiana design della comunicazione visiva and its CDPG (Centre of Documentation on Graphic Design), as well as important Italian and Swiss private art collections. The Italian Consulate General in Lugano has accorded its patronage for the exhibition’s valorisation of Italian culture abroad and for presenting Franco Grignani's research with its international value.