Curated by Salvatore Settis with Anna Anguissola and Denise La Monica. Designed by Rem Koolhaas/OMA.
Despite its widespread cultural relevance, the reuse of Greek and Roman antiquities has only recently been studied in detail. Part of the investigation undertaken by Fondazione Prada since 2015, “Recycling Beauty” is the continuation of the exhibitions “Serial Classic” and “Portable Classic” with the same aim to draw attention to the moment when an antique artifact crosses the boundary between its condition of abandonment among ruins and the moment its value is reactivated through reuse. The artifact then becomes key to accessing the multiplicity of contemporary cultures, affecting both the present and the future.
The exhibition scenography underlines the great artistic and historical value of the 50 selected works, loaned by the most prestigious international and Italian public collections and museums. It also demonstrates how they have experienced migration, transformation, and evolution of meaning, allowing us to view the past as an unstable phenomenon in constant evolution.
