Can visuals silently dictate our world? Fondazione Prada’s latest exhibition with AMO/OMA promises answers and provokes new questions.
Forget everything you thought you knew about diagrams. Starting May 10, Venice’s Fondazione Prada at the Ca’ Corner della Regina is hosting “Diagrams,” a brainy but visually compelling exhibition masterminded by AMO/OMA, the design and research collective founded by architectural provocateur Rem Koolhaas. Running through November 24, the exhibition unpacks the hidden power of visual data representation, laying bare how diagrams shape thought, culture, and history without ever uttering a single word.
Spanning two floors of the ornate 18th-century palazzo, “Diagrams” assembles over 300 pieces including rare manuscripts, prints, digital media, and video, dating from the 12th century to today. Each piece underscores a pivotal idea: diagrams are far more than neutral charts or graphs. Rather, they function as subtle, persuasive tools capable of influencing public perception, from social justice and healthcare reforms to propaganda and ecological awareness. AMO/OMA’s thoughtful curation, informed by Rem Koolhaas and Giulio Margheri alongside Sietske Fransen from the Max Planck Institute, illuminates the diagram’s quiet dominance across fields as diverse as politics, architecture, and fashion.
Courtesy of AMO/OMA, photo by Frans Parthesius
Courtesy of AMO/OMA, photo by Frans Parthesius
Courtesy of AMO/OMA, photo by Frans Parthesius
At the heart of the exhibition lies pioneering work by sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, whose groundbreaking infographics from the 1900 Paris Exposition vividly documented African-American lives, simultaneously challenging racial stereotypes and paving the way for modern data-driven activism. Equally transformative are Florence Nightingale’s diagrams that revolutionized healthcare, Charles Joseph Minard’s iconic depiction of Napoleon’s ill-fated Russian campaign, and Alexander von Humboldt’s ecological mappings, all reflecting on diagrams’ enduring relevance and potential for manipulation.
W.E.B. Du Bois, Conjugal condition of American Negroes according to age periods , c . 1900 | Courtesy of Prada
AMO/OMA’s own history with diagrams, tools central to their architectural vision since the ’70s, frames the exhibit’s contemporary relevance. As Koolhaas himself puts it, diagrams offer a “language-independent” method of representation, enabling nuanced arguments and visionary proposals without the constraints of words. Coupled with contributions from forward-thinking studios like Atmos Lab and Transsolar, this exhibition feels less like a history lesson and more like a fresh, timely exploration of how we visualize our increasingly complex world.
This isn’t merely a collection of fascinating visuals; it’s a timely interrogation of the power structures diagrams silently reinforce or disrupt. In short, “Diagrams” is where visual storytelling gets real, urgent, and seriously thought-provoking.
