Institutional & International Exhibitions

Wild by Design brought Marco Grasso’s wildlife painting into ADI Design Museum, one of Milan’s key institutions dedicated to Italian design culture. The museum houses the historical collection of the Compasso d’Oro, the design award established in 1954 and widely regarded as one of the most authoritative recognitions in international design.

Within this setting, the exhibition connected animal portraiture with design thinking. Natural forms, behaviours and evolutionary solutions were presented as sources of intelligence, function and beauty, allowing Grasso’s paintings to enter a dialogue with the broader visual culture of Italian design.

Mimesis. Ritratti animali marked another central institutional step, placing Marco Grasso’s animal portraits inside the Natural History Museum of Milan. Founded in 1838, the museum is one of the oldest and most authoritative natural history museums in Europe, with extensive scientific collections and a public identity deeply connected to biodiversity, education and the study of the natural world.

In this context, Grasso’s dark-background animal portraits were placed in direct dialogue with natural history and observation. The animals appeared as silent, powerful presences, inviting viewers to look at wildlife with the same attention normally reserved for human portraiture.