The season of Theater of architecture continues its complex exhibition program that enriches the panorama of exhibitions in Mendrisio, intertwining contemporary photography, cultural history and educational experimentation. Until March 29, 2026, the exhibition space of the Academy of Architecture of the University of Italian Switzerland offers three distinct but complementary projects: Stefano Graziani. Reality Show, Archisatire: A Counter-History of Architecture and the educational installation Two exercises.
Promoted by the Academy of Architecture of theUSES, The exhibitions are presented alongside three different perspectives on the theme of architectural representation and the way in which it enters into everyday life, visual culture, and the education of future designers.
Photography as an interrogation of reality
Stefano Graziani. Reality Show
Set up on the second floor of the Architecture Theatre, the exhibition Stefano Graziani. Reality Show, edited by Francesco Zanot, brings together a selection of photographs by the Italian artist and photographer Stefano Graziani, some already existing and others specially created.
The exhibition doesn't follow a single theme or a linear narrative. Instead, the images connect architecture, objects, cityscapes, people, and fragments of reality that coexist within the same frame. The effect is that of a layered visual narrative, in which no single element dominates.
In Graziani's work, photography becomes a tool for questioning rather than explaining. The images often appear documentary, yet at the same time suggest an ambiguous dimension, suspended between reality and construction. The artist questions the very idea of photography as a means of providing definitive answers.
His works function as open systems: images that welcome multiple interpretations and generate unexpected connections between objects and situations. Everything in the shot is real, but the way these elements coexist in the photographic space often produces an effect of estrangement.
The title of the exhibition, Reality Show, alludes precisely to this tension between documentation and simulation. It's not about representing reality, but about reflecting on how it is presented and perceived.
The publication of the volume is also planned on the occasion of the exhibition Stefano Graziani. Reality Show, edited by Francesco Zanot and published by Mendrisio Academy Press in co-edition with Silvana Editoriale.
Satire and Architecture: An Alternative History
Archisatire: A Counter-History of Architecture
If the first exhibition investigates photography as a contemporary language, Archisatire: A Counter-History of Architecture Instead, it addresses the relationship between architecture and visual culture through an unusual perspective: that of satire.
Curated by the architectural historian Gabriele Neri, in collaboration with the Library of the USI Academy of Architecture, the exhibition offers a journey through caricatures, cartoons, photomontages, posters and film sequences that ironically recount the urban and architectural transformations of recent centuries.
Many of the images presented were originally published in newspapers and magazines and intended for ephemeral circulation. Reunited in this exhibition, they reveal their value as tools of cultural criticism, capable of demonstrating the impact of architecture on society and everyday life.
The exhibition is divided into four thematic sections.
The architect in caricature analyzes the representation of the architect in popular culture, comparing celebratory portraits and ironic interpretations that span centuries of visual history.
Urban scandals It collects satirical reactions to major transformations of cities and controversial buildings, such as the Crystal Palace in London, the works of Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, the Loos Haus in Vienna, the Centre Pompidou in Paris or the Sydney Opera House.
The irrational house Instead, he explores the caricatures dedicated to new modern housing models—from the rationalist house to the prefabricated or entirely glass-enclosed one—which have often aroused perplexity or irony.
Finally Caricatures of architects presents the work of designers who have used satirical drawing as a means of expression, including Alessandro Mendini and Ugo La Pietra.
The exhibition features works by numerous artists and illustrators, including William Hogarth, Honoré Daumier, George Cruikshank, Mino Maccari, Leo Longanesi, and Saul Steinberg. The exhibition also includes the screening of famous film sequences, from One Week by Buster Keaton to Mon Oncle e Playtime by Jacques Tati.
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication of the book Satire of the Architect: A Counter-History of a Profession Through Caricature, signed by Gabriele Neri and published by Mendrisio Academy Press in co-edition with Edizioni Casagrande.
Student experimentation
Two exercises on display in Mendrisio
Alongside the two main exhibitions, the ground floor of the Teatro dell'architettura hosts the installation Two exercises, created by the first year Bachelor students of the Academy of Architecture.
The project was born within theBlumer Horizontal Atelier, an educational laboratory directed by Professor Riccardo Blumer, who for over twenty years has offered students design exercises based on constructive and performative practices.
The installation brings together the results of the work carried out in the second semester of the 2024–2025 academic year and the first semester of 2025–2026, involving approximately seventy students per semester.
The two exercises presented in the exhibition investigate the relationship between movement, body and perception.
The first project is dedicated to the “bell wheels”, wooden devices designed to generate sound through the rotating and oscillating motion of a clapper. Each student developed their own variation of the structure, exploring the relationships between space, sound, and construction.
The second exercise instead consists of movable joints Made from wooden cylinders connected by nylon threads and set in motion by a pendulum. Manually operated, these objects generate dynamic configurations that continually transform the installation's form.
As per the atelier's tradition, the works have also been presented at public events: the bells, for example, were activated in the streets of Mendrisio in December 2024, while the joints are put into operation during the exhibition.
The Mendrisio Architecture Theatre is open Thursday and Friday from 14 to 18, Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 18, with closure from 22 December 2025 to 2 January 2026.
Further information, event updates and group bookings are available on the official website.
Lugano, Locarno, and Mendrisio: three cities, one cultural vision for 2030
