NILUFAR DEPOT , THE FIRST DECADE

2025 marks the tenth anniversary of Nilufar Depot: a decade of visions, experimentation, and exhibitions that have established the space on Viale Lancetti as an international reference point for design and visual arts. To celebrate the occasion, Nilufar presents Nilufar Depot: The First Decade—a 100+ page book chronicling the Depot’s journey since its inception. Conceived as both a visual and narrative archive, the volume features previously unpublished and rare images, alongside a comprehensive overview of all exhibitions, retrospectives, and installations presented over the years. The publication is enriched by critical texts by Annamaria Sbisà, which capture the evolution and complexity of this unique cultural initiative.

Notable exhibitions that have marked the history of the space include Lina Bo Bardi – Giancarlo Palanti Studio d’Arte Palma 1948–1951, presented during Milan Design Week 2018; FAR 2019: a voyage into a galaxy of emergent designers curated by Valentina Ciuffi/Studio Vedèt with exhibition design by Joseph Grima/Space Caviar; Matacubi by Pietro Consagra (2021); and Poikilos – New Forms of Iridescence, a solo exhibition by Objects of Common Interest during Milan Design Week 2023.

“Celebrating Nilufar Depot’s first ten years is deeply emotional for me. This space was born as an experiment and, over the years, has grown into a living, open laboratory. Looking back, I’m grateful for everything we’ve built—but I see this anniversary above all as a new beginning. The aim is to keep pushing the boundaries of the project, welcoming new visions, and shaping an even more dynamic future.” — Nina Yashar

To accompany the book launch, Nina Yashar has invited Martino Gamper to present a site-specific performance, conceived in direct dialogue with the architecture and spirit of Nilufar Depot. The space is imagined as a constantly evolving stage—capable of welcoming and renewing the language of contemporary design. For the occasion, Gamper—whose interdisciplinary practice combines material expertise with formal experimentation—will intervene on a selection of collectible design pieces from the gallery’s collection. His gesture will be radical and transformative, not destructive, with the aim of reinventing and reimagining the object, offering it a new destiny and identity.

Each piece will be reactivated in its vital function and opened to new formal and narrative interpretations. Working through a methodology rooted in improvisation and an intuitive response to form, Gamper employs acts of deconstruction, assembly, and recomposition. Each intervention becomes a reflection on the narrative and formal potential of the object, unfolding in a continuous dialogue between memory and transformation.

The performance will unfold in the atrium—the main hall of the Depot—and will be anchored by one of Gamper’s most intricate works: his Off Cut Tables, composed of thirteen individual tables. Among the most emblematic expressions of his practice, the project is built from reclaimed wood and explores a wide range of compositional possibilities, transforming leftover materials into furnishings of powerful visual and tactile presence.

Gamper’s participation holds strong symbolic value. In 2015, on the occasion of Nilufar Depot’s opening, he designed the site-specific setting for the inaugural dinner, involving over 150 seating elements. A decade later, his return marks a new chapter in the story of the space, reaffirming its commitment to an ongoing dialogue between design, art, and experimentation.