Nilufar presents the next chapter of Nilufar Grand Hotel Vista Mare at Galerie56

Nilufar presents the next chapter of Nilufar Grand Hotel Vista Mare, its evolving exhibition project, at Galerie56 in New York, on view from July 28 – October 26, 2026. The design exhibition continues the gallery's ongoing collaboration with Nilufar founder Nina Yashar and Galerie56 founder and architect Lee F. Mindel, FAIA. “Conceived as a continuation of Nilufar Grand Hotel, first presented during Milano Design Week 2026, the project extends Nilufar’s exploration of hospitality as a curatorial and spatial medium, investigating how collectible design can construct atmospheres, narratives and emotional states,” Nilufar notes in an official release.

“Coming back to Galerie56 allowed us to approach things differently,” says Yashar in the official release. “After La Dolce Vita, I felt the need to slow down the narrative, to look at objects in a more suspended way, almost as if time itself was part of the composition.” Whereas Mindel notes, “Rather than recreate the Milan exhibition, we wanted to offer a new experience, one shaped by New York, by summer and by the enduring idea of Venice… For me, the gallery became a kind of grand hotel where architecture, light and extraordinary objects come together to create an atmosphere as much as an exhibition. The works are not merely on display: they create a space where design and cinema converge.” 

While the duo's inaugural presentation drew inspiration from Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, the new showcase takes its cues from Italian cinema. This time, the reference shifts to Luchino Visconti's 1971 adaptation of Death in Venice, where beauty, memory and the passage of time become central themes. “Within this framework, the hotel becomes an emotional and contemplative landscape—a curatorial device through which design unfolds as experience,” Nilufar explains.

The exhibition assembles vintage and contemporary design pieces by Italian and international designers from the mid-20th century onwards. Among the highlights is an extendable dining table by Carlo Mollino, designed around 1956 for Apartment O at Casa del Sole in Cervinia and manufactured by Ettore Canali. Other historical products include a Rationalist mirror by BBPR and a selection of pieces by Gabriella Crespi, including the Monsieur Madame chest of drawers, Fungo floor lamp, Caleidoscopio lighting, Bauletto table lamp, Rising Sun mirror as well as her animal-shaped sculptures, each demonstrating her approach to materiality, movement and natural forms. “Alongside these works…Miguelito armchair by Luis Barragán, a Magdalena carpet by AB Märta Måås-Fjetterström designed by Barbro Nilsson and a model 1774 low table by Fontana Arte broaden the exploration of material, structure and craftsmanship,” the design gallery notes.

Also on view is a rare bookshelf by Gio Lonti manufactured by Altamira and a work by Martino Gamper made for his 2007 performance Gio Ponti translated by Martino Gamper. “Reworking furniture originally designed by Ponti for the Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento, Gamper transforms deconstruction into a process of reinterpretation, establishing a dialogue between modernist heritage and contemporary design practice,” Nilufar notes. Completing the presentation are works by Carlo Bugatti and Pietro Chiesa, whose use of materials underscores the exhibition's broader exploration of craftsmanship.

"In New York, the collaboration with Lee F. Mindel and Galerie56 extends this vision, aligning it with Nilufar's ongoing approach to exhibition-making, where hospitality becomes a curatorial device through which collectible design opens onto different cultures and narratives, subtly informing the living space," Nilufar concludes.