Anyone who has visited the Fondazione Prada in Milan in the last couple of years will have no doubt seen the über cool cafe/bar designed by film-maker Wes Anderson.
Anderson designed it to sit and think in, according to him, a place to a write a movie in. That would be a great idea if it wasn’t so busy. BUT you can’t deny that it is a pretty cool place to have a cappuccino or spritz after visiting a new project Wes has done with his partner Juman Malouf also at Fondazione Prada entitled “Il Sarcofago Di Spitzmaus e Altri Tesori” translated as ‘Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures’.
The exhibition is not work done by the pair, instead, it is a collection of pieces selected from 2 museums in Vienna, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum
The piece in the title of the exhibition is a small unassuming ancient Egyptian wooden box with a mummified shrew from the 4th century BC and the majority of the objects share a strange quirkiness that makes them either compelling or mysterious or in some cases just a bit odd. You almost expect the eyes of the strange oil paintings of Austrian Nobility and wolfchildren to follow you around the room like props in a Scooby doo cartoon.
There is some 538 artworks and objects and trinkets to look at, all beautifully lit and more than enough for a wet Sunday afternoon. Just book your ticket in advance as it can get very busy.
Wes Anderson & Juman Malouf: Il Sarcofago Di Spitzmaus e Altri Tesori is on at the Fondazione Prada, Milan from 20 Sep 2019 – 13 Jan 2020. For more info visit www.fondazioneprada.org/