Maurizio Cattelan will inaugurate Milan Design Week at 7 a.m. on April 20 with what can only be described as a hopefully civilized and very caffeinated experiment in amateur economics: a public “breakfast-barter” in Piazza Duomo.
According to Artribune, the premise is simple. Bring an object—ideally something “curious, iconic, affective, eccentric or unexpected”—and attempt to trade it with a stranger before the espresso runs out. Coffee will be provided by Lavazza, which, unlike the objects in circulation, is not up for negotiation.
Organized with Nicolas Ballario and featuring a supporting cast of brand-name designers including Stefano Seletti, Fabio Novembre, Marcantonio, Charley Vezza, and Giulio Iacchetti, the event transforms the city’s most photographed square into a temporary swap meet, albeit one with better lighting and more stylish swappers. It follows last year’s dawn breakfast, also hosted by Cattelan, suggesting that the artist has found his preferred medium for Milan’s Design Week: early-morning gatherings that blur the line between performance art and lifestyle activation.
What, exactly, is being tested remains unclear—perhaps the value of objects, perhaps the value of experiences. Maybe the point is simply to see how many people will show up at daybreak to exchange a ceramic ashtray for a tote bag under the supervision of one of contemporary art’s most reliable provocateurs.
