Enzo Mari
Italian designer (1932–2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Enzo Mari (27 April 1932[1][2] – 19 October 2020) was an Italian modernist artist and furniture designer who is known to have influenced many generations of industrial designers.[3][4]
Enzo Mari | |
|---|---|
Enzo Mari in his studio in Milan, 1974 | |
| Born | 27 April 1932 |
| Died | 19 October 2020 (aged 88) |
| Spouse | |
| Website | enzomari |
Early life and education
Mari was born in Novara, Italy, and he studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy from 1952 to 1956.[5]
Career
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He drew inspiration from the idealism of the Arts and Crafts movement and his political views as a communist.[7][8]
From 1956 onward, he specialised in industrial design and created a portfolio of more than 2,000 works.[5] In the 1960s, he published a series of books with his then-wife Iela Mari, including "The Apple and the Butterfly," a book of illustrations depicting the story of a caterpillar and an apple, without any text.[9]
In the 1970s, as a professor at The Humanitarian Society, he founded the Nuova Tendenza art movement in Milan.[10] Also in that decade, he designed the Sof Sof chair[11] and the "Box" chair.[12] In 1974, in reaction to the mass production of furniture, Enzo Mari created a book entitled, Autoprogettazione, which deals with the DIY construction of furniture and provides plans and instructions on how to create 19 items of furniture from ubiquitous materials.[13][14] In the 1980s, he designed the modernist Tonietta chair.[15]
Mari also taught at University of Parma, the Accademia Carrara, and the Milan Polytechnic.[10]
Multiple works by Mari have been on display at the Museum of Modern Art.[16] He had retrospective shows in Turin,[17] and an important presentation of his work in the "Adhocracy" show, during the first Istanbul Design Biennial. In addition, the Triennale, Milan, is exhibiting a tribute to Mari, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli.[18]
He donated the archive of his designs to the city of Milan on the condition that it may not be displayed for 40 years.[5]
Personal life
Mari married children's book illustrator Iela Mari in 1955; they had two children.[19][4] One of them is the writer Michele Mari.
He married art critic, theoretician and performance artist Lea Vergine in 1978.[20][4] They had known each other since the 1960s.[21] He died from COVID-19 on 19 October 2020, at the age of 88, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.[22] Lea Vergine died a day later, also from COVID-19.[23]
Publications
- "autoprogettazione?", 1974
Awards and recognition
- 1967 Compasso d'Oro Award for individual research in design[24]
- 1979 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Delfina" chair[24]
- 1987 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Tonietta" chair[24]
- 2001 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Legato" table[24]
- 2000 Honorary Royal Designer for Industry ("HonRDI" only 200 people may hold this title at any time.)[25]
- 2002 Honorary Degree in Industrial Design, Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Architecture[26]
- 2011 Compasso d'Oro Career Award[27]
Selected quotes
- "Form is everything."[7]
- "Design is dead."[7]
- "I want to create models for a different society."[28]
- "When I design an object and people say: 'Oh, well done!', I unfailingly ask myself, Where did I go wrong? ... If everybody likes it, it means I have confirmed the existing reality and this is precisely what I don't want."[29]
