What’s Happening: An expansive new exhibition at Triennale Milano takes stock of how today’s generation of Italian painters have responded to three years of transformation and upheaval wrought by the pandemic, war, economic upset, and the rapid proliferation of AI.

The Download: The European art history books and “101” courses posit that Italian artists paved the way for painting as we know it today. Many of the medium’s milestones, like the replication of intricate Byzantine patterns during the medieval period, Giotto’s portrayal of emotion and complex human form, and the advent of linear perspective in the work of architect Filippo Brunelleschi, are captured in the works of High Renaissance masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Just a 15-minute walk away from Santa Maria delle Grazie, whose refectory houses The Last Supper, a survey of 119 contemporary Italian paintings at the Triennale Milano takes stock of the medium’s evolution as society begins to emerge from its own recent Dark Age.

Architecture and painting have long been intertwined in both the country and the museum’s history. In antiquity, this took the form of the early frescos adorning Roman villas and evolved to include Renaissance altarpieces and murals. Even the inaugural art and design triennial in 1933, a mural exhibition for which the museum’s current home in the Palazzo dell’Arte was tailor made by Giovanni Muzio, embodies the tradition. “Italian Painting Today” is no different. Triennale head curator Damiano Gulli worked closely with Milanese architect Italo Rota to determine the number of paintings to showcase, and how to structure the lineup to avoid thrusting visitors into a cavernous and overwhelming display.

The result is as if a tower of monumental art books clattered to the floor, each landing open to a different page with related themes, techniques, and subjects. The survey is neither precious nor discriminating in its definition of painting. A gallery of painted textiles and walk-through installations, including a vignette for live portrait sketches, invites touch and interaction. Renaissance techniques like chiaroscuro and gold-ground paintings of divine figures find new life in works like a painted onyx portrait of Saint Sebastian by Nicola Samori, in which the rugged face of the gemstone stands in for the saint’s mottled flesh, or Dario Pecoraro’s menacing empress. “Italian Painting Today” avoids making blanket statements about whether painting in the country is alive or dead. It simply is, and the show’s value lies in the platform Gulli provides to the talents working within the medium today.

Included works range from the violently pornographic, such as in Iva Lulashi’s graphic reflection on censorship, freedom, and abuse of authority. Others, like Maddalena Tesser’s coolly eerie scene of three girls sitting far from one another with heads bowed and hair obfuscating their faces, land as commentary on isolation and intimacy considering how hard-hit Italy was during the pandemic. Landscapes, whether in the form of Pietro Ruffo’s collage of skulls peering out from a forest of vines and trees, or Vera Portatadino’s painted canvas abstraction of sun-scorched terrain, reflect nature contextualized by what humanity has done to it.

In Their Own Words: “The Whitney Biennial presents American art, the German Kunsthalle and the Kunsthaus present German artists, France’s FRAC are made to promote the French artists, and so I think it is the same,” Gulli tells Surface. “We give them a scene and then people can see them. For a long, long time, there have been no exhibitions about Italian painting. The Triennale presents itself as a place where we can discuss, and starting this discussion through an exhibition or public programming is really important.”

Surface Says: “Italian Painting Today” continues a millenia-old tradition by achieving the impossible: making masterful works relatable.

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Last night, the Council of Fashion Designers of America hosted its annual awards show underneath the giant whale at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The “Oscars of Fashion” honors defining members of the vast American fashion ecosystem, from designers and stylists to celebrities—and now athletes. Tennis legend Serena Williams, the first athlete to receive the fashion icon award, was perhaps the evening’s biggest star and dressed to prove it, swathed in an oversized crystal-specked Thom Browne satin dress adorned with a giant bow. “I knew when I was a little girl that I was different,” Williams said. “So I saw fashion and style as a way to, you know, kind of distinguish myself.”

If Serena’s honor was an ace, some winners were perhaps par for the course. Catherine Holstein of Khaite won in womenswear for the second year running; Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row snagged their sixth CFDA Award, this time for accessories, but skipped the ceremony. There were pleasant surprises—Mara Hoffman, who recently debuted a dress made of recycled cotton-polyester fabric, won for environmental sustainability while the International Award went to Surface cover star Jonathan Anderson.

Menswear winner Willy Chavarria zoomed out and drove down an important point that set the tone for the evening: “We’re all sitting in the shadow of some really awful things happening in the world,” he said during his acceptance speech. “We all need to stand with those people that are being hurt—in any way. We need to do whatever we can through our business, through our human context or our daily lives, to make others feel loved and empowered.”

Lyon Porter’s unconventional career path includes pit stops in minor league hockey, New York City real estate, the hospitality world, and interior design. Along with co-founder and life partner Jersey Banks, the Brooklyn-based designer has parlayed a five-room passion project in a Brooklyn townhouse into the Urban Cowboy, whose fifth outpost just debuted inside a Gilded Age mansion in Denver. Known for theatrical aesthetics, a found-objects ethos, and creative-class clientele, the brand has also served as a springboard for Porter’s own design aspirations—he envisions every detail of each property himself—culminating in the recent launch of his own studio, Cowboy Creative.

Last week, Speyside distillery The Glen Grant celebrated the U.S. launch of its 70-Year-Old single malt, Devotion. One of only seven one-of-a-kind, artisan-made decanters created by Master Distiller Dennis Malcolm, craftsman and designer John Galvin, and Glasstorm master craftsman Brodie Nairn, the launch was unveiled to artists and collectors at a celebratory cocktail party in the heart of the Miami Design District. There, guests enjoyed canapés by Le Basque and dazzling floral installations by Lewis Miller.

When was it? Nov. 2

Where was it? Paradise Plaza, Miami

Who was there? Jillian Mayer, Azeez Bakare, Paola Alberdi, Angeles Almuna, Anna Ruiz, Chris Valdes, and Catie Case.

When: Until Nov. 30

Where: By appointment at 101 N 3rd St, Brooklyn

What: In the eyes of Duplex’s Patrizio Chiarparini, design in its recent years “has lost a bit of its ingenuity.” His latest exhibition of collectible design celebrates the expanded cultural lexicon brought about by Italy’s second postwar design revolution, which saw an unbridled utopian optimism spring up around the potential of mass production. “Utopia” sees Chiarparini bring together genre-defining pieces, like Claudio Salocchi’s sprawling Free System sofa, an original 1958 Catilina lounge chair by Luigi Caccia Dominioni, and more.

Tend is the first dentist you’ll look forward to. Launched in October 2019, Tend was created to set a new standard for oral health by providing dentistry the way it should be—hassle-free, personalized, and straightforward, with a focus on patient happiness—all in a calm, inviting, and thoughtfully designed space.

Surface Says: By prioritizing hospitality and design in equal measure, Tend has made dental care downright chic.

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