Who is Alessandro Mendini?
He is the guy who took over Domus when Gio Ponti left.
He is the one who designed the Proust Armchair.
He is the one wearing the Harlequin suit.
Self-portrait wearing the Harlequin suit, Fondo Mendini, Triennale di Milano
Where does he come from?
"I grew up in an obsessive house, full of
paintings. The walls were packed from floor to ceiling,
even the doors were completely covered. I lived
surrounded by 1,300 paintings. I remember sleeping under the blank look of Virgilio Guidi's portraits." He is talking about the Boschi-Di Stefano House.
Carrà, Marussig, Sironi, Morandi, Guttuso, De Chirico, Savinio, Fontana, Crippa, Vago are just some of the artists hanging on these walls.
Casa Boschi Di Stefano, Via Giorgio Jan 15, Milano. Photographs by Mariana Siracusa
It is easier now to picture the guy who was attacked from every direction by conflicting stimuli as the designer of the Proust Armchair. Even Art can be used to learn about Democracy.
Alessandro Mendini, Proust Armchair, Alchimia, 1978. Die Neue Sammlung, Munich. Photography by A. Bröhan
