ART Sandro Chia Cleto Munari planned and designed by ... · Javier Mariscal Deisa Centazzo ART CARPETS Cleto Munari and Friends Edited by Marco Fazzini COP_8752_ArtCarpets_DorsoOK:Layout

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This book documents and illustrates the latest creations of Cleto Munari who, following on his workwith silver, jewellery, watches, fountain pens and furniture, brought together a group of ten artists and designersto create a unique collection of art carpets. The Art Carpets Collection is composed of objects that succeed incombining craftsmanship, advanced working techniques and captivating chromatic variety. The aesthetic of thefinal result draws both on the expertise acquired in the field of looming and furnishing and on the power of theindividual designer’s motifs.

As Cleto Munari himself likes to say, his world is one where every object is born and lives as “purepoetry.” Every carpet in this collection succeeds in appealing to the eye and emanating a silent glow, so that thedistant horizons of desire can be reached through the dawn’s loom.

The collection’s inventiveness, unique colouring, masterly design, and overall vision merge to producecarpets that can beautifully adorn traditional or minimal environments, private homes or public spaces, hotellobbies or showrooms, creating a unique, exclusive atmosphere, as only fine art work is able to do.

Planned and projected by ten designers and produced by Moret, these unique pieces represent the peakof the skills and experience of this unsurpassed Italian designer-editor. What’s more, they are the fruit of an entirelifetime, with the friends, triumphant collaborations and irrepressible utopias of a man who has been dreamingand producing “poetry” for more than forty years…

Contents: Art Carpets: Friendships and Geographies of Beauty – An Interview with Cleto Munari –Ten Designers for the Art Carpets Collection – The Beauty of Italian Inventiveness: Moret – The Art Carpets –Designers’ Biographies and Notes on Contributors – Art Carpets: Italian Texts

The Editor: Marco Fazzini is a lecturer at the University of Ca’ Foscari (Venice), and has worked in Durban (South Africa), St

Andrews (Scotland), Columbia (South Carolina), and Melbourne (Australia). He has published articles and books on post-colonial literatures

and has translated some of the major English-language contemporary poets. His major poetry collections are: Nel vortice (1999); XX poesie

(2007); Driftings and Wrecks (2010). His latest book is an extensive study on poetry and songwriting, Canto un mondo libero (2012).

€ 45,00 $ 55.00 Canada $ 55.00 £ 34.95

ART CARPETSCleto M

unari and FriendsEdited by M

arco FazziniC

on testo italiano

Art Carpets planned and designed by

Lawrence FerlinghettiDario Fo

Cleto MunariAlessandro MendiniEttore MocchettiMario Botta

Sandro ChiaMimmo PaladinoJavier MariscalDeisa Centazzo ART CARPETS

Cleto Munari and FriendsEdited by Marco Fazzini

COP_8752_ArtCarpets_DorsoOK:Layout 1 20-03-2013 13:35 Pagina 1

1970SIn 1972, by a chance encounter, Carlo Scarpa—already a famous architectat the time—welcomed Cleto Munari in his home in Vicenza. From thenonwards, Munari spent each day with the master, in order to see himwork, meet his acquaintances, anddevelop his creations. This friendship and esteem lasted until the passing of the great master, who designed whathave become legendary items for Munari:his cutlery, carafe, and centrepieces.

Marco Zanuso was one of the greatItalian architects Munari had been in touch with since the early 1970s. This group also included Vico Magistretti,Gio Ponti, Mario Bellini and EttoreSottsass—friends and life-longcollaborators who made their presencefelt almost on a daily basis.

Born in Austria in 1917, Ettore Sottsassgraduated from the Polytechnic of Turin in 1939 and started working for Olivetti in 1958. One of Scarpa’s long-standingfriends, he met Cleto Munari at the dawnof the 1970s. Munari shared with him the experience of Memphis and then, for several years, that of the SottsassAssociati studio. He designed hundredsof objects for Munari: tea and coffee sets,jewels, vases, glass items, watches,pieces of furniture, and lamps.

In 1977, on the eve of the launching of the magazine MODO, Cleto Munarimet its founder Alessandro Mendini,supporting the latter’s enterprise with ten subscriptions. This marked the beginning of a friendship between the two destined to last for forty years.

It was Ettore Sottsass and Carlo Scarpawho advised Munari to go and visit the brilliant young creative Hans Hollein.A formidable globetrotter, Munari set outfor Vienna in order to meet the architectin 1977. The two were later to designglasses, trays, centrepieces and watchesthat are now on display in museumsaround the world.

AlessandroMendini, MODO magazine(1977–2006)

Carlo Scarpa, Cutlery, 1977–78

Marco Zanuso and Cleto Munari, late 1970s

Ettore Sottsass, Tea and coffee setin silver and pink wood, 1971–81

Hans Hollein, Silver fruit bowl, 1979

Ettore Sottsass, Design for a tray, 1979

19

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1980SThe design and décor of Munari’s housein Venice, originally conceived for CarloScarpa, were laid out starting in 1979.Following the death of the master, Ettore Sottsass was entrusted with the work, creating a space that wasfeatured in hundreds of magazines fromaround the world throughout the 1980s.

A young talent supported by Carlo Scarpaand Giuseppe Mazzariol, Mario Bottagraduated in Architecture in Venice and then became acquainted with CletoMunari (among others). The friendshipand collaboration between the twoproduced dozens of ideas, objects anddesigns in various fields of applied art.

Norman Foster, along with Cleto Munari,holds the record of having designed overfifty objects in the mid-1980s that werenever completed. The two met in HongKong and developed strong ties of friendship and collaboration. Whilehighly significant, his designs attest to the fact that the transition from theplanning stage to that of the crafting or industrial manufacturing of an item is not always a straightforward one.

The allegories featured to various degreesby Arata Isozaki’s creations, withreferences to Palladio and Claude NicolasLedoux, have clearly attracted CletoMunari’s interest. The two met in the late1970s and worked together for severalyears, spending time together with theirlong-standing common friends: Sottsassand Mendini. It was Isozaki whoorganized the grand exhibition at theTokyo Seibu Museum for Munari in 1988.

Over time, Paolo Portoghesi designedvarious objects with Cleto Munari.Portoghesi praised the young Munari’stalent right from the start. In what hasbecome a famous passage, he wrote:“Munari… cuts across the culture of architects and designers, enriching itwith one of the rare opportunities toverify its results, leaving behind him smallwonders that one day historians will bestudying as significant early syntheses of broader phenomena.”

Cleto Munari with Ettore Sottsass and Arata Isozaki, Venice (Cleto Munari’sapartment)

Ettore Sottsass, Pair of rings, 1984–86

Paolo Portoghesi, Silver cutlery, 1983

Mario Botta, Pair of silver carafes, 1987

Norman Foster, Preliminary drawings for various objects, 1984–86


1990SThe key exhibitions in Munari’s careerinclude at least two Italian ones worthmentioning as crucial stages for him at the height of his career and fame. One is the 1997 exhibition “DandyDesign,” held at the old stables of Palazzo Reale in Naples under the patronage of the Ministry for Culturaland Environmental Heritage; the other the 1999 exhibition “La figura dellecose,” a new retrospective curated by Achille Bonito Oliva that was held in the Museo Nazionale di CastelSant’Angelo in Rome.

Munari first met Václav Havelat the exhibition Hans Hollein hadorganized for him at the ÖsterreichischeGalerie Belvedere in Vienna in 1986.Havel devoted an exhibition to Munari in 1993, which he personally inaugurated,entrusting the designer Borek Šípek with its curatorship. Bill Clinton visited theexhibition the day after its inauguration.

Based on an idea by Cleto Munari, the body of the Porsche 911 Carrerawas completely redesigned byAlessandro Mendini (left side), CletoMunari (bumper and rear bonnet),Mimmo Paladino (front bonnet), Cesar Pelli (hood) and Ettore Sottsass(right side).

In 1999 top-design lighting systems werecreated under Munari’s supervision byvarious architects for Ilva Pali Dalmine.These systems are now in use in variousurban centres, both in Italy and abroad.

A promising young architect in Milan at the time, in 1971–72 Michele De Lucchi was introduced to Munari and designed various objects for him,including a series of captivating and highlyrefined glass items that have entered into the history of Murano glass.

Munari has always been fascinated with the East. Among others, his collaborators and friends include: Tao Ho, Arata Isozaki, Toyo Ito, MasahikoKubo, Kisho Kurokawa, Shigeru Uchida,Nanae Umeda and Yoichi Ohira.

Cover of the Dandy Design catalogue, 1997

Cleto Munari, Porsche redesigned by Munari (with Mendini, Paladino, Pelli and Sottsass)

Lighting systemsfor Ilva Pali Dalmine, 1999

Tao Ho, Silver carafe and glasses, “Lazy Lucy”, 1993

Yoichi Ohira, Blown glass, 1990

Václav Havel, the President of the newly founded Czech Republic

Michele De Lucchi, Design and blown glass, 1990

20

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1990

2000SA new jewel collection by EttoreSottsass was launched in 2002 under the name “La Seduzione.” This chieflyconsists of gold objects with ebony, coral,lapis lazuli and black onyx inlays and finishes: rings, necklaces and earringsthat illustrate the simplicity and charm of the great master, for whom “design—to quote Alessandro Mendini—is not a matter of ideology, of orthodoxy,but a sensitive phenomenon, a quest for identity.”

In 2003, Cleto Munari fulfilled a dream of his: to launch a collection of glassobjects, the “Corolle d’Autore”collection, a unique series of designerwine glasses. These were crafted inMurano according to the ideas of seventydesigners, including: Andrea Branzi,Riccardo Dalisi, Ross Lovegrove, RichardMeier, David Palterer, Paolo Portoghesi,Álvaro Siza, Stanley Tigerman, OscarTusquets Blanca, Tao Ho, Ettore Sottsass,and Izzika Gaon.

After installing a work by MimmoPaladino in his own house in Venice in the early 1980s, and then starting a jewel project with him, in 2003 Munarifinally witnessed the creation of a wonderful and precious collection—oneof the achievements he is most proud of.

With Alessandro Mendini, in 2003 Cleto Munari developed the “Micromacro” collection: a series of Murano glass vases set within metalcasings in such a way that the bulgescreated by the constricting solid materialform unexpected recesses, curves, foldsand bubbles. What we seem to find hereis an attempt to “foster a circular, relaxedand informal anthropological motion of life,” as Mendini had already theorizedin a 1985 text entitled Le affinità elettive.

In 2003 a prestigious book was publishedrecording Cleto Munari’s new creations:The Book of the Five Pens illustrates a previously unreleased collection of fountain pens devoted to five NobelPrize laureates in Literature: WoleSoyinka, José Saramago, Saul Bellow,Nagib Mahfuz, and Toni Morrison. Asidefrom dedicatory letters from the Nobelwinners, the book features the originaldesigns from the creators of the pens:Toyo Ito, Alessandro Mendini, CletoMunari, Álvaro Siza Vieira, and OscarTusquets Blanca.

“I Magnifici 7” is the name of the newtable collection signed by Cleto Munari,Mimmo Paladino, Sandro Chia, LawrenceFerlinghetti, Mark Strand, Mario Botta,and Alessandro Mendini.

After years of on-and-off collaboration, in the new century Sandro Chiahas designed various pieces of furniturefor Munari: first a table, then a chair, a drink cabinet, a mirror and a kneadingtrough. A very close collaborationbetween the two continues to this day,unfailingly producing original ideas and designs—as is always the casebetween Munari and his long-standingfriends: Mimmo Paladino, Mario Botta,Alessandro Mendini and the othersbehind this new carpet collection.

Mimmo Paladino, Two Jewels, 1983-2003

Sandro Chia, Lacquered wood kneading trough, 2008

Ettore Sottsass, Drawings for jewels from the “La Seduzione” collection, 2002

Alessandro Mendini, “MicroMacro” collection, 2003

Cover of the catalogue Architetture di Vetro: corolle d’autore, 2003


Ten Designersfor the Art CarpetsCollection

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Ten Designersfor the Art CarpetsCollection

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224

Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an Americanpoet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers &Publishers. Author of poetry, fiction,plays, art criticism, and film narrations, heis famous for his best-selling book AConey Island of the Mind (NewDirections, New York 1958), a collectionof poems which has been translated intonine languages, with sales of over onemillion copies. He has given variousexhibitions of his painting in USA andItaly. He still lives in San Francisco, andone of the roads in town has been calledafter his name.

Cleto Munari is an Italian designer who,since his first meeting with Carlo Scarpain 1973, has directed his activities andresearches towards the industrial design,working for major companies all aroundthe world. Constantly in search ofinspirations, ideas and original projects,Munari is open to a relentless analysisand experimentation with forms andmaterials. His objects—epically the oneproduced in silver and gold—are kept inthe permanent collections of severalmajor museums worldwide, including theMetropolitan Museum of Art and theMuseum of Modern Art in New York.

Ettore Mocchetti is an Italian architectand interior designer. He graduated inarchitecture at the Milan Polytechnic,specializing in “graphic design” and“interior design” and cultivating twopassions: journalism and architecture. In1975 he worked with Oscar Niemeyer fora publication on new ideas for urbanprojects. Between 1970 and 1977 hedirected the magazine Epoca, andbetween 1998 and 2004 he has plannedand directed the Condé Nast Traveller. Hehas contributed to the re-organization ofthe historical centre in Varese and to thenew urban planning of the Eolian Islandsin Italy. Since 1980, he has been directorof the magazine AD: Architectural Digest,one of the most influential interior designjournals in the world.

Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright,theatre director, actor, composer andpainter. His dramatic work employscomedic methods of the ancient Italiancommedia dell’arte, a theatrical stylewhich has been popular, since the distantpast, with working classes. He has beenrunning and operating his own theatrecompany together with his wife, theactress Franca Rame, for various decades.He was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize forLiterature. The Nobel Committee definedDario Fo as a writer “who emulates thejesters of the Middle Ages in scourgingauthority and upholding the dignity of thedowntrodden.”

Alessandro Mendini is an Italian designerand architect. He has played an importantrole in the development of Italian designall around the world. Apart from all hisvarious artistic commitments, he hasdirected Casabella, MODO and Domusmagazines. In Italy, he designed the Alessifactories in Omegna, the new Olympicswimming-pool in Trieste, severalunderground stations in Naples, theByblos Art Hotel – Villa Amistà in Veronaand new offices for the Trend Group inVicenza. He also restored the publicgardens in Naples and designedcommercial buildings, offices, and homesin Milano Bovisa. Abroad, he designed atower in Hiroshima, the GroningenMuseum in Holland, a district of Lugano inSwitzerland, an office building forMadsack in Hanover and a commercialbuilding in Lörrach in Germany, and manyother buildings in Europe and the UnitedStates.

Mario Botta is one of the most influentialand innovative architects in the world. In1969 he received his degree inArchitecture in Venice under thesupervision of Carlo Scarpa and GiuseppeMazzariol. In 1970, he started his ownprivate studio in Lugano. He has taught inLosanna, Yale, and in various prestigiousinternational institutions. His works haveextensively covered various kinds ofprivate and public commissions forschools, banks, libraries, museums, busstations and churches. He has contributedin renovating La Scala theatre in Milan andthe Querini Stampalia library in Venice. In2006 he received the Grand Officer Awardfrom President of the Italian RepublicCarlo Azeglio Ciampi and designed hisfirst spa, the Bergoase Spa in Arosa,Switzerland. He presently works inMendrisio where he has opened a newspace for research and exhibitions. 225

Sandro Chia is an Italian painter andsculptor. Born in Florence, in his thirtieshe became a key member of the ItalianTransavanguardia movement, along withother young artists such as FrancescoClemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola DeMaria, and Enzo Cucchi. The movementwas at its peak during the 1980s and waspart of a wider movement of neo-expressionist painters around the world.He lived in Rome for ten years and inNew York more than twenty years. Hehas extensively exhibited in Italy andabroad and his works belong to some ofthe most prestigious museums in theworld: the Stedelijk Museum inAmsterdam, the MoMA in New York, theTate Gallery in London, the Museum ofArt in Kochi (Japan), the Tel Aviv Museumof Art (Israel), the Kunsthalle Bielefeld(Germany), the Marx Collection in Berlin,and many others.

Javier Mariscal is a Valencian Spanishartist and designer who has been living,since 1970, in Barcelona. His work hasspanned through a wide range ofmediums, ranging from painting andsculpture to interior design, landscaping,cartoons and films. In 1989, Cobi waschosen as the mascot for the Barcelona1992 Olympic Games. In 1989 he openedthe Estudio Mariscal and collaboratedwith designers and architects such asArata Isozaki, Alfredo Arribas, FernandoSalas, and others. In 1995, Twypsy waschosen as the mascot for the Hannover2000 Expo. In 1999 Mariscal received thenational Design Prize of the SpanishDepartment of the Industry and the BCDFoundation grants for his professionalcareer. In 2011 he won the Award of theHungarian National Student Jury for thefilm Chico and Rita at the 7th Festival ofEuropean Animated Feature Films and TVSpecials.

Mimmo Paladino is an Italian painter,sculptor and engraver. He is one of theleading members of the Transavanguardiamovement founded and theorized byAchille Bonito Oliva in 1980. Among hisrecent works: a group of sculpturesshown en plein air in Orta San Giulio(Lake of Orta) in a show curated by FlavioArensi, a horse floating to the shore infront of Villa Bossi, the Town Hall and abig blue horse over four metres high atthe Amphitheatre of Vittoriale degli Italianidi Gardone Riviera (Brescia), house-museum of the novelist GabrieleD’Annunzio. He is also interested in therelationship between visual art and soundand has worked with the sound artistBrian Eno on the installation I Dormientifor the Roundhouse, London in 1999 andon a piece for the Ara Pacis Museum inRome in 2008. His works arepermanently located in some of the majorinternational museums, including theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Deisa Centazzo is an Italian artist anddesigner. She graduated at the Venice ArtSchool and specialized in sculpture atVerona Academy of Arts and in London.She collaborated with a Swiss factory tocreate new designs to be applied tohybrid wind-solar energy machineries fordeveloping countries. She alsocooperated in a project for low cost cleanenergy, and is presently helping with newideas to give colour to some housingdistricts in Milan. From 2009, DeisaCentazzo has been working at a specialrecycling project for various publishinghouses.

Designers’ Biographies and Notes on Contributors

224

Lawrence Ferlinghetti is an Americanpoet, painter, liberal activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers &Publishers. Author of poetry, fiction,plays, art criticism, and film narrations, heis famous for his best-selling book AConey Island of the Mind (NewDirections, New York 1958), a collectionof poems which has been translated intonine languages, with sales of over onemillion copies. He has given variousexhibitions of his painting in USA andItaly. He still lives in San Francisco, andone of the roads in town has been calledafter his name.

Cleto Munari is an Italian designer who,since his first meeting with Carlo Scarpain 1973, has directed his activities andresearches towards the industrial design,working for major companies all aroundthe world. Constantly in search ofinspirations, ideas and original projects,Munari is open to a relentless analysisand experimentation with forms andmaterials. His objects—epically the oneproduced in silver and gold—are kept inthe permanent collections of severalmajor museums worldwide, including theMetropolitan Museum of Art and theMuseum of Modern Art in New York.

Ettore Mocchetti is an Italian architectand interior designer. He graduated inarchitecture at the Milan Polytechnic,specializing in “graphic design” and“interior design” and cultivating twopassions: journalism and architecture. In1975 he worked with Oscar Niemeyer fora publication on new ideas for urbanprojects. Between 1970 and 1977 hedirected the magazine Epoca, andbetween 1998 and 2004 he has plannedand directed the Condé Nast Traveller. Hehas contributed to the re-organization ofthe historical centre in Varese and to thenew urban planning of the Eolian Islandsin Italy. Since 1980, he has been directorof the magazine AD: Architectural Digest,one of the most influential interior designjournals in the world.

Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright,theatre director, actor, composer andpainter. His dramatic work employscomedic methods of the ancient Italiancommedia dell’arte, a theatrical stylewhich has been popular, since the distantpast, with working classes. He has beenrunning and operating his own theatrecompany together with his wife, theactress Franca Rame, for various decades.He was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize forLiterature. The Nobel Committee definedDario Fo as a writer “who emulates thejesters of the Middle Ages in scourgingauthority and upholding the dignity of thedowntrodden.”

Alessandro Mendini is an Italian designerand architect. He has played an importantrole in the development of Italian designall around the world. Apart from all hisvarious artistic commitments, he hasdirected Casabella, MODO and Domusmagazines. In Italy, he designed the Alessifactories in Omegna, the new Olympicswimming-pool in Trieste, severalunderground stations in Naples, theByblos Art Hotel – Villa Amistà in Veronaand new offices for the Trend Group inVicenza. He also restored the publicgardens in Naples and designedcommercial buildings, offices, and homesin Milano Bovisa. Abroad, he designed atower in Hiroshima, the GroningenMuseum in Holland, a district of Lugano inSwitzerland, an office building forMadsack in Hanover and a commercialbuilding in Lörrach in Germany, and manyother buildings in Europe and the UnitedStates.

Mario Botta is one of the most influentialand innovative architects in the world. In1969 he received his degree inArchitecture in Venice under thesupervision of Carlo Scarpa and GiuseppeMazzariol. In 1970, he started his ownprivate studio in Lugano. He has taught inLosanna, Yale, and in various prestigiousinternational institutions. His works haveextensively covered various kinds ofprivate and public commissions forschools, banks, libraries, museums, busstations and churches. He has contributedin renovating La Scala theatre in Milan andthe Querini Stampalia library in Venice. In2006 he received the Grand Officer Awardfrom President of the Italian RepublicCarlo Azeglio Ciampi and designed hisfirst spa, the Bergoase Spa in Arosa,Switzerland. He presently works inMendrisio where he has opened a newspace for research and exhibitions. 225

Sandro Chia is an Italian painter andsculptor. Born in Florence, in his thirtieshe became a key member of the ItalianTransavanguardia movement, along withother young artists such as FrancescoClemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola DeMaria, and Enzo Cucchi. The movementwas at its peak during the 1980s and waspart of a wider movement of neo-expressionist painters around the world.He lived in Rome for ten years and inNew York more than twenty years. Hehas extensively exhibited in Italy andabroad and his works belong to some ofthe most prestigious museums in theworld: the Stedelijk Museum inAmsterdam, the MoMA in New York, theTate Gallery in London, the Museum ofArt in Kochi (Japan), the Tel Aviv Museumof Art (Israel), the Kunsthalle Bielefeld(Germany), the Marx Collection in Berlin,and many others.

Javier Mariscal is a Valencian Spanishartist and designer who has been living,since 1970, in Barcelona. His work hasspanned through a wide range ofmediums, ranging from painting andsculpture to interior design, landscaping,cartoons and films. In 1989, Cobi waschosen as the mascot for the Barcelona1992 Olympic Games. In 1989 he openedthe Estudio Mariscal and collaboratedwith designers and architects such asArata Isozaki, Alfredo Arribas, FernandoSalas, and others. In 1995, Twypsy waschosen as the mascot for the Hannover2000 Expo. In 1999 Mariscal received thenational Design Prize of the SpanishDepartment of the Industry and the BCDFoundation grants for his professionalcareer. In 2011 he won the Award of theHungarian National Student Jury for thefilm Chico and Rita at the 7th Festival ofEuropean Animated Feature Films and TVSpecials.

Mimmo Paladino is an Italian painter,sculptor and engraver. He is one of theleading members of the Transavanguardiamovement founded and theorized byAchille Bonito Oliva in 1980. Among hisrecent works: a group of sculpturesshown en plein air in Orta San Giulio(Lake of Orta) in a show curated by FlavioArensi, a horse floating to the shore infront of Villa Bossi, the Town Hall and abig blue horse over four metres high atthe Amphitheatre of Vittoriale degli Italianidi Gardone Riviera (Brescia), house-museum of the novelist GabrieleD’Annunzio. He is also interested in therelationship between visual art and soundand has worked with the sound artistBrian Eno on the installation I Dormientifor the Roundhouse, London in 1999 andon a piece for the Ara Pacis Museum inRome in 2008. His works arepermanently located in some of the majorinternational museums, including theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Deisa Centazzo is an Italian artist anddesigner. She graduated at the Venice ArtSchool and specialized in sculpture atVerona Academy of Arts and in London.She collaborated with a Swiss factory tocreate new designs to be applied tohybrid wind-solar energy machineries fordeveloping countries. She alsocooperated in a project for low cost cleanenergy, and is presently helping with newideas to give colour to some housingdistricts in Milan. From 2009, DeisaCentazzo has been working at a specialrecycling project for various publishinghouses.

Designers’ Biographies and Notes on Contributors


76

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The Beautyof ItalianInventiveness: Moret

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The Beautyof ItalianInventiveness: Moret

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The preparatory work for the graphic model starts with the initial draw-ing by one of our designers/artists and transforms a pictorial original in-to a digital reproduction. This model serves as a map which wholly re-draws, knot after knot, the entire pattern of the future carpet. It is a sortof digital pattern that replaces the textile wagireh or sampler rug of thepast with precise calculation of the knots and colours to be used. Pro-ceeding from the brightest hues to the subtlest shades, it createspanoplies of colour that are technically feasible and visually appealing.We use expert rug designers trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Is-tanbul. The greatest joy is to see the weavers at work with these mod-els hanging on their looms, following precisely what was planned pre-viously in our offices of Istanbul: a perfect combination of technologyand craftsmanship.

Graphics


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191

Colour plays the key role in these carpets as it does in paintings. Eventhough the tactile qualities of the carpet endow it with special impor-tance and make it an attractive and coveted article, it is the visual im-pact that we have focused on from the very beginning of this project.It is to art that primacy is accorded: the innovations of artists like Chiaand Paladino, the poetry of Ferlinghetti and Fo, the more rational and ar-chitectural approach of Botta, the postmodernism of Mendini, the chal-lenging surrealism of Mariscal and Mocchetti, the primitivism of Cen-tazzo, and the extraordinary playfulness of Cleto Munari.

The Art of Colour


R


197

Research and Company Philosophy

The last three years have been marked by ideas and enthusiasm on thepart of the organizer, of the artists progressively drawn into the projectand all of the figures involved in this work of craftsmanship. The plan-ning developed by Moret for the Art Carpets Collection of Cleto Munarihas seen numerous changes of course and unexpected turning pointskeeping us constantly open to new solutions as regards technical andchromatic development. We wanted a collection of high-quality Italiandesign with a sophisticated and persuasive aesthetic, combining the skillof master craftsmen with modern technology and exclusive productionwith interior designers. Thus it is that the designs we have woven andcherished have succeeded in appealing to the eye and emanating a silentglow, so that the distant horizons of desire can be reached through thedawn’s loom.


The Art Carpets

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The Art Carpets

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201

Lawrence Ferlinghetti You and MeEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


203

Dario Fo Johan Padan IIPure silk and Tibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


LawLawrence Ferlinghetti El CheEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29Custom-made piece produced on demand


202

DarDario Fo Johan Padan IPure silk and Tibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


205

Cleto Munari EyesPremium linen and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


207

Alessandro Mendini IllinoisEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk)Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


204

CletDario Fo

Discovery of AmericasTibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


AleCleto Munari After Paul KleePremium linen and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


209

Alessandro Mendini

ColoradoEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk)Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


211

Ettore Mocchetti

Corals IIPure silk and Tibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


Ale

ColoElegHandtradiLimiCust

Alessandro Mendini Milky WayEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk)Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


210

Etto

CoraPureHandtradiLimiCust

Ettore Mocchetti

Corals IPure silk and Tibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


216

San

LookElegHandtradiLimiCust

Sandro Chia

The TreeEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


212

SkullsAloe and Tibetan wool Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand

Ettore Mocchetti

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Sandro Chia FacesEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


217

Sandro Chia

Looking Out Eleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


218

Mim

San ElegHandtradiLimiCust

Mimmo Paladino

San Romano Battle IEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


220

Mim

FloatPuremohto thLimiCust

Mimmo Paladino

Floating Presences I Pure silk and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


221

Mimmo Paladino

Floating Presences II Pure silk and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand

05_8752_REGESTO:00_8407 guzzini 18-03-2013 17:30 Pagina 221 219

Mimmo Paladino

San Romano Battle IIEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


222

JavJavier Mariscal

CarasPremium linen and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


Deisa Centazzo ArtdeisaEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk)Handknotted according to the ancienttraditionsLimited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand

224


Javier Mariscal ManchasPremium linen and Eleganza yarn (wool,mohair and silk). Handknotted accordingto the ancient traditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


214

SanMario Botta Anatolia I, II, III, IVEleganza yarn (wool, mohair and silk) Handknotted according to the ancienttraditions Limited edition / 29 Custom-made piece produced on demand


Sk

ira

This book documents and illustrates the latest creations of Cleto Munari who, following on his workwith silver, jewellery, watches, fountain pens and furniture, brought together a group of ten artists and designersto create a unique collection of art carpets. The Art Carpets Collection is composed of objects that succeed incombining craftsmanship, advanced working techniques and captivating chromatic variety. The aesthetic of thefinal result draws both on the expertise acquired in the field of looming and furnishing and on the power of theindividual designer’s motifs.

As Cleto Munari himself likes to say, his world is one where every object is born and lives as “purepoetry.” Every carpet in this collection succeeds in appealing to the eye and emanating a silent glow, so that thedistant horizons of desire can be reached through the dawn’s loom.

The collection’s inventiveness, unique colouring, masterly design, and overall vision merge to producecarpets that can beautifully adorn traditional or minimal environments, private homes or public spaces, hotellobbies or showrooms, creating a unique, exclusive atmosphere, as only fine art work is able to do.

Planned and projected by ten designers and produced by Moret, these unique pieces represent the peakof the skills and experience of this unsurpassed Italian designer-editor. What’s more, they are the fruit of an entirelifetime, with the friends, triumphant collaborations and irrepressible utopias of a man who has been dreamingand producing “poetry” for more than forty years…

Contents: Art Carpets: Friendships and Geographies of Beauty – An Interview with Cleto Munari –Ten Designers for the Art Carpets Collection – The Beauty of Italian Inventiveness: Moret – The Art Carpets –Designers’ Biographies and Notes on Contributors – Art Carpets: Italian Texts

The Editor: Marco Fazzini is a lecturer at the University of Ca’ Foscari (Venice), and has worked in Durban (South Africa), St

Andrews (Scotland), Columbia (South Carolina), and Melbourne (Australia). He has published articles and books on post-colonial literatures

and has translated some of the major English-language contemporary poets. His major poetry collections are: Nel vortice (1999); XX poesie

(2007); Driftings and Wrecks (2010). His latest book is an extensive study on poetry and songwriting, Canto un mondo libero (2012).

€ 45,00 $ 55.00 Canada $ 55.00 £ 34.95

ART CARPETSCleto M

unari and FriendsEdited by M

arco FazziniC

on testo italiano

Art Carpets planned and designed by

Lawrence FerlinghettiDario Fo

Cleto MunariAlessandro MendiniEttore MocchettiMario Botta

Sandro ChiaMimmo PaladinoJavier MariscalDeisa Centazzo ART CARPETS

Cleto Munari and FriendsEdited by Marco Fazzini

COP_8752_ArtCarpets_DorsoOK:Layout 1 20-03-2013 13:35 Pagina 1

Moret MilanoVia Ventura, 1520134 Milano - Italy

[email protected]

t +39 0444 320147f +39 0444 325221

Moret srlCorso Ss. Felice e Fortunato, 19736100 Vicenza - Italy

This is the preview of the book “Art Carpets - Cleto Munari and Friends”

Documents

ART Sandro Chia Cleto Munari planned and designed by ... · Javier Mariscal Deisa Centazzo ART CARPETS Cleto Munari and Friends Edited by Marco Fazzini COP_8752_ArtCarpets_DorsoOK:Layout