Katsumi Nakai (1927–2013), a key figure in the artistic dialogue between Japan and Italy, founded the avant-garde group Tekkeikai before moving to Milan in 1964. Immersed in the city’s fertile artistic and cultural climate, he encountered Lucio Fontana, whose influence profoundly shaped his research. Integrated into the “New School of Milan,” Nakai developed an original visual language that explored space, light, and movement.

At the heart of the exhibition stands the majestic, multicolored kite—of museum importance—which the artist described in 1976 as follows:
“It took me two days to assemble it piece by piece, I ended up with a stiff neck. Now the ceiling seems ready to take flight toward unknown and boundless spaces.”
The kite moves through the air with great elegance, rising and soaring while carrying the dreams of a child. It glides in silence, without destroying, ready to set off again—delicately, then with strength—when the right wind begins to blow once more.