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 The fab 60's |
| The story of Joe Colombo, design whiz-kid,
coincides with the one of Italy's most successful bursts of creativity.
The period from the end of the 1950's to the beginning of the 1960's,
Milano became the setting for the dramatic interaction of project development,
art and industry. Capital of the Italian miracle, driving force of economic reawakening, Milano also served as the incubator for extraordinary creative and artistic developments. Then as now, Milano hosted the Triennale and the most prestigious trade events. Then as now, visitors flocked from around the world to attend the Salone del Mobile, and the Rinascente and the Compasso d'Oro were established. Countless publications were born in the sector of architecture and furnishings, among them "Casabella" and "Domus". |
 In
the stretch of very few years, from the end of the 50's to the dawn of
the 60's, just about everything changed. Wealth and education became more
evenly dispersed, society underwent great changes and Pop Art claimed
a place in history. Unfettered design became both an expression of and
an influence on the common imagination, reaching out to new materials
and unheard of colors. These were the days of inflatable easy-chairs such
as Blow, and the famous baseball mitt Guantone. This is the fertile environment
from 1959 -1971 which nourished the creative genius of Joe Colombo, the
designer which perhaps better than any other embodies all that has set
Italian design apart from the rest of the world; and this for several
reasons. |
| In the first place, designer and executor of a given
project were the same person. As is the case with many other famous designers
-- Bruno Munari, Enzo Mari, Ettore Sottsass - Colombo was completely involved
in each project from inception to completion, working harmoniously with
industry and manufacturing from Boffi to Bernini, to Comfort. Artistically speaking ( with Bay and Dangelo a major protagonist of Nuclearismo) he experimented giving free-rein to his wildest impulses and images, delighting in a chaos of color and materials. |
 Joe
Colombo took a free-wheeling approach to invention, yet was, at the same
time, an astute and vigilant observer of technology, industrial processes,
market demands and communication. For this reason, if for no other, it
can be said with confidence that his work comprised all the most original
characteristics of Italian design of the period. |
| In interior design, he followed a concept of flowing
movement by means of multi-use components. Here again, technology is also
a statement in itself, both progressive and revolutionary, advancing current
thinking on furnishings and design. His pictorial representations veered toward the surrealistic, the bold. He created fantastic architectural landscapes which lapped over into the objects and furnishings he created. His work is marked by a unique manipulation of space and mass, new associations and functions for familiar images, new technology, techniques, assemblies and use of then unexplored materials such as polymers. |
