Carlo Mollino: Minimum Design

Carlo Mollino (1905-1973) was one of the foremost figures in a generation of Italian architects. Born at the dawn of the twentieth century, his work embodied the renewal of the national artistic season and marked the golden age of Italy's global identity. 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 1980s. 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.