Gio Ponti, demiurge director

International Labour Exhibition, Turin 1961

Abstract

This article explores the 1961 International Labour Exhibition, organised in Turin to celebrate the centenary of the Unification of Italy. The analysis focuses on Gio Ponti, the exhibition project's director and manager within the Palazzo del Lavoro, designed by Pier Luigi Nervi. The article investigates the relationship between PontiPonti'sgn visions and the political, cultural and organisational dynamics that characterised the event through the analysis of the installations, including the central ‘castle’ and 'the thematic sections curated by leading architects and artists, a reflection on the representation of ‘work' as ' social and technical value emerges. The research highlights the contrasts between the architectural solutions and the requirements of a transitional exhibition, highlighting how the exhibition became a symbol of Italy during the economic boom, between innovation and contradictions.