ALESSANDRO MENDINI

Born in Milan in 1931. Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Worked in Nizzoli's architectural office in the 1960s. Joined the editorial department of the architectural magazine Casabella in 1968.
Served as editor-in-chief of Casabella from 1972, and in the same year participated in the exhibition "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape" at MoMA in New York, showcasing Italian design.
In 1973, he co-founded "Global Tools," a school of anti-design that served as a culmination of the radical design movement, which opposed industry and mass production in Italy.

He was a central figure in the radical movement until his expulsion from the Casabella editorial department in 1975.
In 1977, he launched the design magazine Modo, and in 1978 joined the avant-garde design studio Alchimia. Involving Ettore Sottsass, Andrea Branzi, Michele De Lucchi, and others, he helped shape an era of Italian Postmodernism alongside the later Memphis group.

From January 1980, he served as editor-in-chief of Domus, implementing significant reforms to the magazine's content.
His representative works include the "Anna G." corkscrew for Alessi and the "Proust" sofa for Studio Alchimia. He is also a prolific author, with a wide-ranging practice encompassing criticism, poetry on architecture and design, and painting.
He served as design consultant for Alessi and as art director for Swatch, which gained worldwide popularity in the late 1980s.

He was responsible for the design of the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, which opened in 1994, and also curated its opening exhibition. He continues to select works for its collection.
He has also created works for the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, including a monumental version of his Proust armchair and other Postmodern pieces. He remains an active master of Italian design and art.