The Shape of Taste. Eating aesthetics at Mart Museum

As the old saying goes, we eat with our eyes first.  A group of food-loving design luminaries and celebrated chefs have combined forces to extrapolate on that adage in an exhibition curated by Beppe Finessi, and centered on industrial and experimental design as applied to food.

The show opens with a tribute to Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari and his book Good Design in which he draws attention to the "function and performance" of the products of nature, such as the perfect package that is an orange. Further on, a series of graphic interpretations turns foods with strong geographic connotations like sushi or lasagna into "anonymous foods" by deconstructing the well known forms into architectural components, thereby revealing their ultimate design truth - a careful compromise between image, taste and production.

The most pervasive food in the world is bread, and if like me you've hungrily pressed your nose against a bakery window, you know how temptingly beautiful the many shapes and incarnations of a simple loaf can be.  This humble, yet historically significant staple is given deserved attention, and is displayed as sculpture to stress it's aesthetic “fineness”.
Amidst cooking demonstrations and tastings, a site specific installation by the designer Martì Guixé explores expressive possibilities in the edible arena, and a group of young designers waxes philosophic of the future of food. 

As the evolution of food reflects socio-economic and anthropological trends, the world of design reflects and interprets these same cultural and aesthetic markers.  This exhibition brings their natural convergence to a delicious conclusion showing creativity, curiosity and great innovative capacity.

Photography by Fernando Guerra FG+SG fotografia de arquitectura | architectural photography