At Fondazione Prada in Venice, the new exhibition DIAGRAMS: A Project by AMO/OMA opens with an unexpected layout. Those familiar with previous exhibitions at Ca’ Corner della Regina may be surprised from the outset: upon entering, the ground floor appears almost empty, interrupted only by a single display that introduces the exhibition’s themes. There are no visible works, no installations. This suspended beginning prompts visitors to wonder where the exhibition is, or whether it has already begun.
Only upon reaching the first floor does the core of the project come into view. The large central hall is immersed in soft, controlled light. A series of displays is arranged in parallel across the space, seemingly floating in the dark. Inside are charts, maps, documents, and images. The atmosphere invites focus. Almost imperceptibly, the visitor becomes absorbed. Time seems to stretch, and it slowly it becomes clear that this will not be a brief visit. What at first might appear to be a collection of informational visuals soon reveals itself as a broader reflection on the nature of visual thinking.
The diagram, the central focus of the exhibition, is not presented as a simple tool for synthesis. Instead, it is shown in all its complexity and ambiguity. Rem Koolhaas, founder of OMA, describes it as “an enduring form of communication that adapts to whatever medium exists at the time.” A statement that acknowledges the diagram’s versatility, but also its pervasiveness. The diagram appears objective, universal, beyond dispute.
Diagrams proposes a dual perspective. On one hand, it invites viewers to read the content of diagrams: data, intentions, and historical contexts. On the other, it encourages close attention to their form, much like one might study a painting or photograph. Visual studies remind us that every image can be examined in aesthetic, formal, and cultural terms. A diagram, with its geometric abstractions, color choices, and composition, is also a visual object that reflects its author and the time in which it was produced. The exhibition makes a point in saying that diagrams as visual forms are never neutral.
The exhibition brings together more than 300 items, including documents, images, videos, and publications from different periods and geographic areas. The selection is the result of a project by Fondazione Prada in collaboration with Rem Koolhaas, Giulio Margheri, and Sietske Fransen. The exhibition is structured around nine central themes that reflect contemporary urgencies: the built environment, health, inequality, migration, nature, resources, war, truth, and value. Each section is supported by a range of materials and further developed through monographic studies or specific subtopics.
The work of W.E.B. Du Bois introduces the exhibition’s narrative. His infographics, produced for the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, address the socioeconomic conditions of African American communities. These charts demonstrate how the diagram can serve not only as a means of communication, but also as a tool of resistance. Du Bois used visual language to document inequality, suggest change, and preserve collective memory.
Alongside Du Bois, the exhibition examines the visual strategies of Florence Nightingale in the field of healthcare, Charles Minard’s historical maps of the Napoleonic wars, Emma Willard’s educational diagrams, and Alexander von Humboldt’s ecological representations. The diagram emerges as a means of knowledge, but also of persuasion, political communication, and scientific reflection.
One section focuses on the recent transformation of visual language, from big data to digital infographics, from social media to communication platforms. Here, the diagram reveals its full ambivalence: it can simplify or distort, clarify or confuse, raise awareness or manipulate. The exhibition suggests that a critical understanding today requires holding both possibilities in view.
Diagrams is a project that moves between historical analysis, cultural reflection, and formal attention. It is an exhibition that takes time, unfolding through accumulation and layering. It invites both reading and close observation. Within each diagram lies a decision, a point of view, a vision of the world.
