Enzo Mari Explained
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]
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
He drew inspiration from the idealism of the arts and crafts movement and his political views as a communist.
From 1956 onward, he specialized 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.[6]
In the 1970s as a professor at The Humanitarian Society, he founded the Nuova Tendenza art movement in Milan. Also in that decade, he designed the Sof Sof chair[7] and the "Box" chair.[8] 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.[9] [10] In the 1980s, he designed the modernist Tonietta chair.[11]
Mari also taught at University of Parma, the Accademia Carrara, and the Milan Polytechnic.[12]
Multiple works by Mari have been on display at the Museum of Modern Art.[13] He had retrospective shows in Turin,[14] 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.[15]
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.[16]
He married art critic, theoretician and performance artist Lea Vergine, in 1978.[17] They had known each other since the 1960s.[18] He died from COVID-19 on 19 October 2020, at the age of 88, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.[19] Lea Vergine died a day later, also from COVID-19.[20]
Publications
- "autoprogettazione?", 1974
Awards and recognition
- 1967 Compasso d'Oro Award for individual research in design [21]
- 1979 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Delfina" chair [21]
- 1987 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Tonietta" chair [21]
- 2001 Compasso d'Oro Award for the "Legato" table [21]
- 2000 Honorary Royal Designer for Industry ("HonRDI" only 200 people may hold this title at any time.)[22]
- 2002 Honorary Degree in Industrial Design, Politecnico di Milano, Faculty of Architecture[23]
- 2011 Compasso d'Oro Career Award[24]
Selected quotes
- "Form is everything."[25]
- "Design is dead."
- "I want to create models for a different society."[26]
- "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."[27]
External links
Enzo Mari by Jasper Morrison (Domus magazine, 2020)
Notes and References
- Book: Moliterno, Gino. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture. 2002-09-11. Routledge. 978-1-134-75877-7. en.
- Web site: ENZO MARI. Avantgarde Museum.
- Green, Penelope, Enzo Mari, Industrial Designer Who Kept Things Simple, Dies at 88, The New York Times, October 30, 2020
- News: Basciano . Oliver . 2020-11-01 . Enzo Mari obituary . 2024-07-04 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
- Web site: enzo mari has died aged 88 . Design Boom. 19 October 2020 . 22 October 2020.
- Web site: The Apple and the Butterfly . Present & Correct . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090329164244/http://www.presentandcorrect.com/item.php?item_id=329&category_id=5 . 29 March 2009 . dmy .
- Web site: Sof Sof Chair. MoMA Catalog. 27 June 2012.
- Web site: "Che fare" by Enzo Mari and Gabriele Pezzini. Design Addcit. 27 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20170704041546/http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/blog/index.cfm/2010/1/7/Che-fare-by-Enzo-Mari-and-Gabriele-Pezzini. 4 July 2017. dead.
- Web site: Enzo Mari's Autoprogettazione . 5 December 2012 . https://archive.today/20130204204148/http://www.timbouckley.com/news/?p=196 . 4 February 2013 . dead .
- Web site: Magazine . Wallpaper* . 2009-10-07 . Enzo Mari's Autoprogettazione Revisited, London . 2022-05-18 . Wallpaper*.
- Web site: MoMA: Tonietta Chair. MoMA Catalog. MoMA. 27 June 2012.
- Web site: Enzo Mari. Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe. 22 October 2020.
- Web site: Works on Display: Enzo Mari. NYMOMA Catalog. NYMOMA. 27 June 2012.
- Web site: Enzo Mari: A view on the immensity . Ego Design . 27 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120518101910/http://egodesign.ca/en/article.php?article_id=350 . 18 May 2012 . dmy .
- Web site: Enzo Mari curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli Triennale Milano. 2020-10-22. www.triennale.org. it. 24 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024134742/https://triennale.org/build/en/events/enzo-maricurated-by-huo. dead.
- Web site: 2014-02-03 . Iela Mari, il nostro saluto . 2023-04-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140203170950/http://heykiddo.it/novita/ielamari/ . 3 February 2014 .
- Web site: Green . Penelope . November 3, 2020 . Enzo Mari, Industrial Designer Who Kept Things Simple, Dies at 88 . March 11, 2021 . The New York Times.
- Web site: Hilburg. Jonathan. 2020-10-20. Italian design legend Enzo Mari dies, a day before his wife, Lea Vergine. 2020-10-22. The Architect’s Newspaper. en-US.
- https://www.agi.it/cultura/news/2020-10-19/morto-enzo-mari-icona-design-italiano-9998611/ Morto Enzo Mari, icona del design italiano e mondiale
- https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/10/20/news/lea_vergine_morta_milano_enzo_mari-271182502/ Morta Lea Vergine, la critica d'arte scompare il giorno dopo suo marito Enzo Mari: era ricoverata con lui in ospedale
- Web site: Enzo Mari e il compasso d'oro . Floor Nature. 22 October 2020. 21 June 2011. it.
- Web site: Current Honorary Royal Designers . May 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081120053325/http://www.thersa.org/projects/design/rdi/current-honorary-royal-designers . 22 October 2020. 20 November 2008 .
- News: Addio a Enzo Mari, maestro del design . Adnkronos. 22 October 2020. it.
- Web site: ADI - Associazione per il Disegno Industriale . 2024-07-05 . www.adi-design.org.
- News: Rawsthorn. Alice. Enzo Mari: A rebel with an obsession for form. 27 June 2012. The New York Times. 2 October 2008.
- Web site: ENZO MARI Edition | CUCULA.
- Web site: An Important Failure . 2024-07-04 . Disegno Journal . en-GB.