Fondazione ICA Milano presents The Lightness of Things, a new exhibition project curated by Alberto Salvadori dedicated to Jasper Morrison (London, 1959), one of the most successful industrial designers on the contemporary scene. The exhibition is open to the public free of charge from Wednesday, March 26 to Friday, July 11, 2025.

The project stems from the dialogue between Piero Gandini and Alberto Salvadori and focuses on an aspect of Morrison’s work dedicated to the reflection the designer has been developing for a long time on the role and function of archetypes, offering a unique perspective on the meaning and purpose of design.

The title of the exhibition, The Lightness of Things, expresses a fundamental concept of Morrison’s design practice: lightness is not only an aesthetic quality but also an essential principle in the relationship between form and function. Every object must combine balance, simplicity, and effectiveness without being superfluous.
The designer extends this vision to daily life, in which heaviness—physical, mental, and professional—can become an obstacle. The exhibition invites to think about how necessary it is to lighten our approach to the world and the challenges faced by humanity.

Located on the first floor of the Foundation, the exhibition presents a new installation that celebrates Jasper Morrison’s essential approach to design: twelve floating chairs within the exhibition space, selected from the many he has designed, and twelve photographic compositions on the wall representing archetypal objects.
The setup is completed by a minimalist soundtrack created specifically by composer Anthony Moore, based on fragments of es- says written by the designer and soundtracked with non-human voices.

In The Lightness of Things, a selection of everyday objects designed by Jasper Morrison is presented in their formal essence. For the designer, the value of an object lies in its ability to naturally integrate into space and daily life without imposing itself. This specific feature is based on the principle of archetypes as universal, timeless forms that reside in the collective memory and influence the way we perceive and use objects.

Two key concepts define the work of Jasper Morrison and find full expression in The Lightness of Things: Super Normal and Unimportance.

Super Normal describes the ability of certain objects, usually those more discreet and anonymously designed, to be so intuitive and functional that they become indispensable over time. They do not attract attention for their aesthetic appearance but reveal themselves as essential for their ease of daily use.
The second concept, Unimportance, which comes from Jasper Morrison’s 1991 essay The Unimportance of Form, arises from a critique of the excessive emphasis placed on form in design. For Morrison, aesthetic appe- arance is not the only relevant element; rather, the value of an object also lies in its material qualities and in how we relate to it when we use it. An excessive focus on the visual aspect risks to overshadow deeper and more decisive aspects of the user experience.

The exhibition The Lightness of Things is realized with the support of Piero Gandini.

ICA Milano thanks Banca Intesa Sanpaolo, the official sponsor of the Foundation, and Valsoia for their support of ICA Milano’s programming and activities.

Jasper Morrison

Known for his “Super Normal” approach to design, Jasper Morrison looks to find the exceptional in the world of the ordinary. He is a firm believer that design should have an almost invisible presence in the end product and that an atmosphere of naturalness in things is more important than a designer’s signature.
Born in London in 1959, Jasper studied design at Kingston Polytechnic, the Royal College of Art and Berlin’s HdK. In 1986 he opened his Office for Design in London, from where he continues to design furniture, lighting, tableware and every day products. He has published several books with Lars Müller Publishers, including A World Without Words, The Good Life, A Book of Things and Super Normal (With Naoto Fukasawa). He has curated and participated in many exhibitions in Japan, the USA and across Europe. His work is represented in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and many other prominent collections around the world. His contribution to design has been recognized with membership of the Royal Designers for Industry, a CBE award in Britain and the Italian Compasso D’Oro award for his career.