Luciano Baldessari (1896 – 1982) was an Italian designer. He was born in Rovereto (then Hapsburg Empire).
Education
He studied at the Politecnico di Milano until 1922.
Biography
As a young man, he collaborated with Futurist artist Fortunato Depero: in the 1920s, he made theatrical sets and was a painter. His widely published 1929 Luminator torchère was one of the few Rationalist furniture or lighting designs produced in Italy: inspired by German experimental work, it was intended to be an abstraction of an illuminated mannequin, with the curved tubular steel representing arms: foreshadowing later light sculptures.’ As an architect, Baldessari created the offices of De Angeli Frua (together with FIGINI and POLLINI). It was one of the most unpredictable manifestations of Italian Rationalism. In Milan, he designed the 1929-32 De Angeli Frua Press building (alongside Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini): 1930 Craja bar, Piazza P. Ferrari, Milan: Cima chocolate manufacture, 1932-33 (with Gio Ponti). Vesta Pavilion, Milan, 1933 (V) Milan Triennale: 1951 (IX) 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 Triennale International Trade Fair, Breda Pavilion.
Bar Craja rationalist space
Bar Craja in Milan was the first ‘rationalist’ space in Milan and was designed by Luciano Baldessari and Gino Pollini. It was an oasis in Italy in the 1930s and was tuned in to the rest of Europe across the Alps. It was part of the same avant-garde scene of the Brera Academy, and the in-crowd sat down according to a fixed seating arrangement. (Cafes and Bars, 2007)
Recognition
His 1929 Luminator torchère was created for the Barnocchi display at the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona.
Cafes and Bars: The Architecture of Public Display. (2007). United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
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Carlo Bugatti (1855-1940) Italian designer and furniture maker
Carlo Bugatti was a leading figure in Italy’s design and decorative arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bugatti is perhaps best known for his exotic, handmade furniture designs. Many of the 19th century’s progressive developments, notably the British Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau, influenced his work. Read More →
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Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020 ) Italian architect, designer, design historian
Vittorio Gregotti (1927- 2020) was an important Italian architect, designer, design historian, theorist and critic, Gregotti was the editor of several leading Italian design journals. He graduated in architecture from Milan Polytechnic in 1952. He spent his lifetime working in the field as a practitioner, academic, and writer.Read More →
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Bruno Gecchelin (b.1939) Italian Architect-Designer
Beginning his professional career in 1962, he worked for many major firms; designed lighting for O-Luce, furniture for Busnelli and Frau, refrigerators and gas stoves for Indesit, glassware for Venini, items for Skipper and Fratelli Guzzini, 1989 Atelier 75 range of four kitchen utensils, and 1987—88 Shuttle range of track lighting. Read More →