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ITALY: THE NEW DOMESTIC LANDSCAPE
ITALY: THE NEW DOMESTIC LANDSCAPE
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MoMA)
NEW YORK, USA
26 MAY - 11 SEPTEMBER 1972
Located in the garden of the MoMA museum in New York, the controversial exhibition known as "Italy: the new domestic landscape" was held in 1972. It exhibited 180 pieces by Italian artists who were chosen to expose the different styles and currents of design that coincided in Italy in the sixties and early seventies. Therefore, the designers created a series of "Environments" to showcase this variety of methods.
The "Environments" area was a place that really surprised the public as the work of the artists and designers went beyond the creation of simple design objects. In this way, they paid tribute to Joe Colombo, one of the great figures of Italian design, who unfortunately died in 1971, a year before the exhibition. His work called the “Total Furnishing Unit" was presented and consisted of a fully habitable, compact and functional piece of furniture. Made of a plastic monoblock and containing all the cells of the home (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, office). These can be assembled separately and can also be combined with each other.
On the one hand, there were designers who created environments that took a radical position, such as the Strump Group or Superstudio, who dealt with issues such as the critique of capitalism or the creation of utopian realities. On the other hand, there were artists like Ettore Sottsass, who focused on adapting spaces to new lifestyle patterns and exploring new materials and techniques.
Cesare "Joe" Colombo (Milan, 1930-1971) was an artist, architect , furniture, product and interior designer who was essential to Italian design in the 1960s. It was in Milan, his native city, that he suddenly died of a heart attack at the early age of forty-one. A short life devoted to a particularly prolific career, the designer created a considerable amount of work renewing forms, materials and uses.
As for his training, Joe Colombo studied painting and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where he dedicated his time to painting, sculpture and drawing, among other things. Later, in 1962, he focused entirely on design and set up his own studio. One of his first creations, the acrylic lamp, with a transparent "C" shaped body, was awarded in 1964. He also designed futuristic and functional furniture and objects. Throughout the 1960s he collaborated with leading publishers such as Kartell, O-Luce and Zanotta. Many of his works are still exhibited in museums around the world and the artist is the subject of regular retrospectives, studies and exhibitions.
During the 1960s, the designer mainly worked on the creation of furniture that stood DASsout for being easily modular, flexible and practical, being able to be transported and adapted to the needs of its user. Focused on a "global" design, cells or units, where the elements of the furniture transcend space and architecture. An example of this is the "Cabriolet Bed", a bedside cabinet consisting of a bed covered with a sliding roof and equipped with a dressing table, mirror and stereo. This "cell" is completed by a day "unit", called Rotoliving, a multifunctional element that evolves with daily needs: it can be used as a coffee table, dining table, bar or bar cabinet. In this way, Joe Colombo is moving towards a way of design that helps the user to gain space and time. Some of the Italian designer's most famous works include the "Elda" armchair (1963), the "Continental Library" (1965), the "Universal " (1967) and "Tube" chairs (1969) and the "Chariot Boby" (1969).
He participated in the XIV Milan Triennial, exhibiting some interior design proposals. In 1964 he won the gold medal at the Milan Triennial with the acrylic table lamp, now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Philadelphia. In 1972, shortly after his death, his project for a global furniture unit was exhibited at the exhibition “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” held at MOMA in New York, realised by ELCO - FIARM, Boffi, Ideal - Standard, with Sormani's assistance. In 1984, a retrospective of his work was held at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Villeneuve. Later, in 2005, the Milan Triennial hosted the retrospective Joe Colombo Inventing the Future.