Mario Bellini
Since the 1960βs, the versatile Mario Bellini has been celebrated for his distinctive designs in architecture, master planning, interiors, furnishings, and industrial design.
Born in Milan in 1935, Bellini graduated in architecture from theΒ Milan PolytechnicΒ in 1959. After working as design director ofΒ La Rinascente, he was hired in 1963 by Olivetti to re-design its office machines. Olivetti helped him satisfy what he has called his βinsatiable curiosity,β by allowing him free rein and excitement of working with engineers, modelers, and painters. He could explore industrial production in terms of his grounding in classical architecture. Architectural logic was expressed in an organic form language.
Bellini was a key figure in the revitalization of Italian design. Always looking for simple elegant solutions, he designed such pieces as the Amanta Chair, a fiberglass frame supporting a foam cushion (C & B, 1966), the famousCab ChairΒ with its removable leather covering (Cassina, 1976), and office chairs for Vitra. Belliniβs designs were also produced by Fiat, Renault, Pirelli, Brionvega, Yamaha, and Artemide.
Bellini won international renown with Kar-a-Sutra, designed for Citroen. This open glass van, which contained an entire living environment on wheels, was exhibited at the groundbreaking 1972 MoMA exhibition called βItaly: The New Domestic Landscape.β Fifteen years later, in 1987, MoMA honored Mario Bellini with its first retrospective devoted to the works of a single living designer.
In 1998 he designed theΒ Bellini ChairΒ for Heller, which won the coveted Compasso dβOro in 2001.
Belliniβs designs are often created by molding clay into muscular forms. Bellini has said that designing a chair is βinfinitely more complex than designing a skyscraperβ¦Tell me what chair youβve designed and Iβll tell you what sort of architect you are.β
His long career also included a period from 1986 to 1991, when he was editor-in-chief of the design magazine Domus. In architecture, Belliniβs buildings include theΒ Tokyo Design CenterΒ (1992) andΒ The Milan Trade FairΒ (1997).
The 2017 exhibition βMario Bellini: Italian Beautyβ at The Triennale in Milan celebrated his more than 60 years of contributions to design and architecture.
Mario Bellini Collection
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The Bellini Chair - Set of 4
Regular price $1,414.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$1,664.00 CADSale price $1,414.00 CADSale -
Sale
Tavollini - Set of 2
Regular price $360.00 CADRegular priceUnit price / per$424.00 CADSale price $360.00 CADSale