Edward Barber - Jay Osgerby. Alphabet

From April 18 to September 6, 2026 Triennale Milano is presenting the exhibition Edward Barber | Jay Osgerby. Alphabet, curated by Marco Sammicheli, with exhibition design by studiomille.

The exhibition will occupy the Design Platform space, which, following the major architectural and functional renovation of the Palazzo dell'Arte, is situated in the large area overlooking the garden on the ground floor, that previously housed the Triennale café.

Edward Barber | Jay Osgerby. Alphabet is the largest monographic exhibition staged in an Italian museum dedicated to the London designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, and it explores three decades of activity in the field of design, from the first furnishing and product design projects to the large public commissions and the collaborations with Italian and international brands, tracing the evolution of the studio's work and its influence on the Italian and international design scene.

The title of the exhibition is inspired by the desire to consider the stylistic alphabet that has developed over the course of Edward Barber's and Jay Osgerby's careers, through certain fixed points, including their deliberate use of color and the use they make of technical curvatures and angle gradations: these elements explain the changing production of the studio which has, over time, increased the sophistication and technology of their projects.

Edward Barber | Jay Osgerby. Alphabet unfolds through a chronological plan organized in themed decades, from the mid-1990s up to 2022, and traces the evolution of the studio's design approach, linked both to meticulous expert craftsmanship and to experimentation. Particular attention is devoted to the relationships between manufacturers and Italian design brands, emphasizing how these collaborations have shaped both the practice and the continuing dialogue with the design culture.

A key focus of the exhibition is the relationship with the exhibition design concept created by studiomille, offering visitors the chance to experience a kind of theater set, formed by a set of steps that was historically used for the anatomical examination of bodies; in this case, the steps restore the idea of staging and attitude to the studio. The itinerary, divided into four plinths, takes shape inside a system of curtains: starting with a description of the London studio's design method, it defines four large periods of their work as though they are epochs, covering almost forty years of the studio's activity.... read the rest of the article»