Javier Mariscal (b.1950) Spanish designer and Graphic Artist

Javier Mariscal (b.1950 ) is a Spanish designer. He was born in Valencia. He is professionally active in Barcelona. 

Education

He studied at the Escuela de Grafismo Elisava, Barcelona, to 1971.

Biography

His poster designs of the 1970s included one for the city of Barcelona as a pictogram of the words bar (‘bar’)/cel (‘sky’)/ona (‘wave’). In addition to Memphis furniture, Mariscal’s work included neo-deco graphics, a 1950s pop-art canine-featured comic strip character called ‘Garriris’ (which made his name), quasi-ethnic carpets, neo-baroque ersatz bronze sculpture, pop-comic zig-zag lamps, bold primary-coloured Klee/Morris-type textile patterns, grinning cats, Kandinskii-like ceramics, and objects of intentionally kitsch taste. 

As a cartoonist, he drew a series called ‘Comix Underground’ for El Rollo Enmascarado in 1973. In 1978, he began decorating Barcelona and Valencia houses and created his first textile range for Marieta. 

His first piece of furniture was the brightly coloured, asymmetrical 1980 Duplex bar stool Mariscal came to the attention of Ettore Sottsass through Mariscal’s work on a 1980 bar (with Fernando Salas) in Valencia and the subsequent 1980 ‘Meubles Amorales’ (Amoral Furniture) exhibition (with Pepe Cortes) at the Sala Vincon.

He participated in Memphis’s initial 1981 collection, designing the backwardly slanted 1981 Hilton tea cart in clear glass and metal tubing and rods, 1981 Table à Café, and 1981 Luminaires Impossibles. 

Trampolín chair

His 1985 ceramic range was produced by Vincon, Barcelona, and 1986 ceramic range by Axis, Paris. His Torero and Tio Pepe chairs for the Centre Georges Pompidou exhibition in 1987 in Paris parodied Spanish culture. Active at Akaba, he designed the 1986 MOR sofa and 1986 Trampolín chair (with Cortes). He created the 1986-87 fabric collection for Seibu, Japan; the Cobi mascot for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona; and the mascot for the 1992 Seville ‘Exposici6n universal de. Sevilla (Expo ’92).’ 

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Exhibition

• The 1980 exhibition ‘Meubles Amoral es’ included prototypes of his furniture produced by Vincon; 
• his 1982 fabric collection was in the exhibition ‘Mariscal’ in the Espace Actuel, Paris; 
• he participated in the 1986 ‘Nouvelle Tendances’ exhibition at CCI/Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris,
• and 1986 ‘Barcelona’ exhibition in Espace MCC in Saint-Étienne. 
• His printed textiles for Marieta and furniture were included in the 1983-84 ‘Design Since 1945’ exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 
• A 1989 one-person exhibition of his work was mounted in London. 

Jean-Michel Frank in our partner stores

Reading List

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

Additional Reading

Adams, S. (2008). Masters of Design: Logos & Identity: A Collection of the Most Inspiring Logo Designers in the World. Rockport Publishers. https://amzn.to/31fEP6w

Hudson, J. (2010). Interior Architecture: From Brief to Build. Quercus. https://amzn.to/3o43weR

Mariscal, J. (2009). Mariscal: Sketches. Nova Era. https://amzn.to/3Eapcvu

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