Carlo Mollino: Minimum Design

Carlo Mollino (1905-1973) was one of the foremost figures in a generation of Italian designers. This biography demonstrates Mollino's unique anti-conformist attitude, a design statement that was at odds with the zeitgeist in his home town, Turin, in the 1950s. This brave move, however, paid off and was the reason for the great international interest in his extraordinary creative skills in the fields of architecture, design and photography. Also famous for his love for mountains, cars and aviation, Mollino captured the attention (and the amazement) of the critics for the individuality of his works. In architecture, furniture and interior design, his output combined examples of Surrealist sensibility and a pioneering and highly personal organic approach. His famous three-legged chairs, tables with zoomorphic shapes, armchairs 'on tiptoe' and daring skeletal structures have in recent years achieved the very peak of world collecting, thereby contributing to his renown as an unparalleled creator. Published in the same style as the successful Minimum Architects series, the Minimum Design series includes books about the major figures in the field of design, creators of objects that have become a part of our daily lives. The lamp on our desk, the chair we are sitting on or the glasses we are wearing have a genius behind them to be discovered. These volumes introduce in a practical manner the personalities and the works of the world's major designers by way of an historical-critical introduction to the work and life of each individual designer. An accurate selection of the designer's most famous objects arranged in chronological order and a critique of his or her work summarising the most significant reviews published in magazines and newspapers completes the subject. Contents: Carlo Mollino by Andrea Branzi; The Janus-faced genius; Catalogue of Objects; The Objects; Carlo Mollino; Critique; Selected References. AUTHOR: Fulvio Irace teaches History of Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic's Faculty of Design. He was the curator of architecture for the Milan Triennale and has contributed to some of the major periodicals in the sector (these include Domus, Casabella and Abitare,) winning the Inarch Bruno Zevi award for architecture criticism. ILLUSTRATIONS: 34 colour