Alessandro Mendini (1931–2019) was one of Italy’s most influential 20th-century designers and architects – but hasn’t always received the recognition he deserves. He is less well-known than his contemporary Ettore Sottsass, ringleader of the Memphis design collective from the 1980s, whose postmodernist furniture, abuzz with jazzy, candy-coloured stripes and squiggles massively inspired millennial and Gen X designers in the 2010s. For devotees of its neo-’80s aesthetic, it was the perfect antidote to safe Scandi good taste.
Mendini was a member of Memphis but, unlike the flamboyant Sottsass, was unassuming and soft-spoken, although irony and sense of mischief pervaded his work. So it’s welcome news that Canonbury gallery The Estorick Collection – in collaboration with the Archivio Alessandro Mendini, run by his daughters – is holding the first UK solo show of his work.
In the 1970s, Mendini was at the vanguard of Italy’s Radical Design movement, which rejected the idea that functionality had to come before form. Instead, he wanted to infuse design with humour and playfulness.
The show displays around 50 of his works, including furniture, lighting, homewares, watches and sculptures. It’s divided into four sections reflecting four facets of his output, all inspired by avant-garde creatives. One of these sections, named Proust, showcases his famous 1978 faux-baroque armchair, stippled with polychrome brushstrokes inspired by pointilliste painter Paul Signac. Its visual style also alludes to the impressionistic style of writer Marcel Proust. It’s classic Mendini, alluding to multiple creative references and bursting with colour – qualities that he saw as having no monetary value but joyous for their own sake.
Mendini’s work gleefully bridged high-end and affordable design. “Mendini was a sophisticated intellectual yet, as a designer, didn’t disdain everyday products,” exhibition curator Alberto Fiz tells Broadsheet.
Take, for example, his Anna G corkscrew – designed to look like a smiling woman wearing a dress – that he created in 1994 for Alessi in collaboration with Annalisa Margarini. Mendini’s daughter Fulvia sums up its spirit: “An emotional household object with a soul”.
Visitors enter The Estorick Collection – in a Georgian townhouse – via a garden bordered by a glass-fronted cafe serving Italian food. Inside is a collection of world-renowned art by early 20th century Italian futurists – a fitting setting for this show, as Mendini grew up in Milan in a house filled with Italian futurist art. “Mendini was influenced by futurist works and ideas, and this naturally aligns with our collection,” says gallery director Roberta Cremoncini.
“We feel it’s important to show Italian design, which is so admired in London in a way that goes beyond the object.”
Alessandro Mendini runs at The Estorick Collection until May 10.
