In the midst of a brutal heat wave, the Fondazione Prada was truly one of Milan’s chillest destinations. Air conditioning prevailed, from the vast gallery spaces to the charming and affordable Cafe Luce. Originally a 1910 gin factory, the Rem Koolhaas-designed complex now boasts seven magnificently transformed buildings. Opened in 1993 in the Lego Isarco district, Prada has become a must-see art attraction.
Mona Hatoum, a British-Palestinian artist, was originally known for her early video and performance pieces first seen in London. In 2025, her work was paired with Alberto Giacometti in London’s Barbican show, “Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum.” Now taking full advantage of Cisterna’s soaring architectural spaces, Hatoum created three site-specific works that exemplify her poetic and provocative vision.
Mona Hatoum photo Marta Marinotti Courtesy Fondazione Prada
The entry piece, Web (2026), is a constellation of hand-blown glass orbs suspended from a stainless-steel spider web. The room felt like a cool seduction, evoking crystalline air or, as the artist has said, “dewdrops.” Standing beneath the complex superstructure, the balls can be interpreted as a celestial constellation or an otherworldly cosmic ceiling.
The next room, “Map (red)” 2026, spreads 30,000 crimson glass beads across a concrete floor. The shape is that of a world map, created with jewel-like crimson marbles or meticulously arranged ruby gemstones. Instead of the familiar world map, Hatoum presents the Gall-Peters projection, which better reflects the proportions of the Global South.
Fondazione Prada_Mona Hatoum
The complex kinetic sculpture “all of a quiver” 2022 is a familiar minimalist grid. Still, it transmutes to a kinetic sculpture, lurching, falling inwards, echoing with the sound of gyrating metal and movement. The moving superstructure suggests skyscraper scaffolding or a building composed of destruction. The shuddering organism requires a moment to contemplate as the aluminium-and-steel structure slowly comes to life, emitting mechanical sounds and groans.
Using classical minimalistic elements, Mona Hatoum’s immersive installations will be on view until November. Italian curator Chiara Bertola heralds Hatoum’s powerful work with her words: “…the whole world is moving deeper into crisis now, and the universality of Mona’s work is only becoming more evident.”
All photos Courtesy Fondazione Prada