Milan and industry go ”˜mano a mano’. Nowhere is this more evident than in the city’s Bicocca district, which was redeveloped by iconic Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli in the Eighties. In 2004, Pirelli introduced a cultural centre focused on research and experimentation for contemporary art. For a decade Hangar Bicocca has emerged as a leading platform for site-specific projects that befits its vast, unconventional network of exposed brick spaces.

As well as a rolling programme of Italian and international exhibitions, permanent installations by Fausto Melotti and Anselm Kiefer fortify Hangar Bicocca as a destination for contemporary art. Notably, Kiefer’s site-specific work, ”˜The Seven Heavenly Palaces’ (pictured above) is a breathtaking installation of colossal proportions in both breadth and height.

Time out in the gallery’s in-house Dopolavoro Bicocca restaurant is as Milanese as it gets for hungry culture vultures.

http://www.hangarbicocca.org/

Via Chiese, 2, 20126 Milano, Italy
+39 02 6611 1573

Fausto Melotti’s La Sequenza ”“ Photo: Courtesy of Hangar Bicocca Milan

Dopolavoro Bicocca Restaurant ”“ Photo: Courtesy of Hangar Bicocca Milan

Jonathan is our UK-based correspondent covering all eye-pleasing things for Melting Butter’s Arts & Culture pages. Being a contemporary visual artist working in public spaces around the world as well as a freelance culture writer for sites and publications like Ohh Deer and Candid Magazine, Jonathan brings a rare combination of talent from the worlds of editorial, conceptual art, design and lifestyle. Be sure to check his blog and his art practice, which satisfy his hunger for both high and low culture. Follow his tweets too: @JMVELARDIRead about Jonathan’s favourite hotspots here.

(Feature image: Anselm Kiefer’s The Seven Heavenly Palaces ”“ Photo: Courtesy of Hangar Bicocca Milan)

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