Magis sedia Mariolina

Mariolina recalls the style of the 1950s, but has a series of additional details. In fact, the  section of the legs is thinner and more precise. The seat and backrest are not attached to the structure through screws or rivets, but through a series of molded plastic ribs that hug the metal structure on the back of the seat and backrest. Mariolina is stackable up to 12 pieces.

Materials: structure in polyester painted steel tube, seat and back in standard injection molded polypropylene.

cm 46 (length) x 48 (width) x 85 (height)

Design: ENZO MARI

Mari is universally considered one of the major theoreticians of Italian and global design.

Enzo Mari is one of the most emblematic figures of Italian design. Born in Cerano, in the province of Novara, in 1932, he enrolled in the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan in 1952. His long career began with participation in avant-garde movements linked to design, including the Arte Cinetica group, where he met Bruno Munari, and the Nuova Tendenza group, of which he became coordinator in 1963 and for which he organized the exhibition at the Zagreb Biennial in 1965. His work is characterized by an artistic and philosophical approach, as well as innovative and non-conformist, and is focused on the didactic and social aspects of design. This will lead him to develop an intense transversal activity in design, in the field of teaching and aesthetic research, and to publish texts thanks to which he is today considered one of the major design theorists in the world.

In Over 60 years of activity, Mari has collaborated with various companies, including Danese, Ceramiche Gabbianelli, Zanotta, Alessi, Magis, Robots, Zani&Zani. In 1971 he participated in the exhibition “Italy: the New Domestic Landscape” at the MoMa in New York, which increased the fame of Made in Italy in the world, with the Pago-Pago vase by Danese. Each project is born after a careful study phase and the creation of sketches and prototypes, and stands out for its clean design with attention to the smallest details. Among the most significant and innovative creations, the Putrella centerpiece from 1958, the serigraphs La serie della natura from 1961, the Formosa perpetual calendar from 1963, created for Danese, Il gioco delle favole from 1965 for Corraini Edizioni, the Traccia tile collection from 1978 for Ceramiche Gabbianelli, the Mariolina chair in 2002 for Magis.

During his career Mari received the ADI Compasso d'Oro award 5 times, an association of which he was also president from 1976 to 1979. In addition that for design projects, such as the Delfina chair for Driade in 1979, the Tonietta chair for Zanotta in 1987 and the Legato table in 2001, Mari receives the award for her research work in 1967 and for her career in 2011. Many some of his works are exhibited in important national and international design museums, including the Triennale in Milan, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the MoMa in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. He died in Milan on 19 October 2020.