Fulvio Ferrari (1) (1945–)

The first catalogue raisonné of Ettore Sottsass’s enamels

The life of Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), architect and designer, has been widely studied and published but few are aware of his earlier work from the 1950s, to which these enamel tondos and vases belong. This is a body of work largely unknown and unpublished conceived for the opening of the Il Sestante gallery in Milan, December 1958.

Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari tracked down all the pieces that were originally in that exhibition and the ones produced later in a small number by the gallery. This material, together with the original drawings from the CSAC archives of the University of Parma, make up the catalogue raisonné of Ettore Sottsass’s enamels.

A text by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle introduces the reader to an original understanding of the earlier Sottsass work, the first and fundamental chapter of the designer’s life that would then develop into the worldwide recognized “Memphis” movement. Lisa Ponti, daughter of Gio, vividly describes the presence and collaboration of Sottsass in the offices of Domus magazine in the 1950s.

Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari, renowned for their work on Carlo Mollino and for having founded the Museo Casa Mollino in Turin, have worked on Italian modern decorative arts since the 1980s. Among their publications are: the furniture of Gabetti & Isola; a discotheque by Casati and Ponzio; the ceramics of Sottsass; Italian lighting of the 1960s, and several books on Carlo Mollino.… (más)

In a career that spanned more than four decades, Carlo Mollino designed buildings, homes, furniture, cars and aircraft. One of the most dashing figures of mid-century Italy, Mollino was famed for his design finesse and his elegant organicism. In 1949 he published an important book on photography: Message from the Darkroom. Sometime around 1960, he began to seek out women-mostly dancers-in his native Turin, inviting them to his villa for late-night modeling sessions. The models would pose against extraordinary backdrops, designed by Mollino, in clothing, wigs and accessories that he had carefully selected. Finally, having printed the Polaroids, Mollino would painstakingly amend them with an extremely fine brush, to attain his idealized vision of the female form. The pictures, which totaled around 1,200, remained a secret until after his death, in 1973. Only a few were ever publically shown, until the acclaimed first edition of this volume was published by James Crump in 2002. Reviewing that book, The New Yorker declared, "This lavish selection of several hundred Polaroids preserves the essential mystery of a project both decadent and hermetic. Though clearly the product of a deep obsession, the photographs are deliberately impersonal, each baroque detail an invitation for the viewer to imagine Mollino's encounters with the women." Now back in print, with a newly designed cover, this beautiful volume offers a captivating portrait of a unique erotic sensibility.
Carlo Mollino (1905-1973) studied mechanical engineering, art history and architecture before working in the architectural practice of his father, Eugenio Mollino, in Turin. His first architectural masterpiece was the Turin Equestrian Association headquarters (1937). In 1965 he designed the Teatro Regio in Turin, which is now regarded as one of his best works. A 1949 Mollino table was sold at auction by Christie's in 2005 for a staggering $3.8 million. In 1960-68 he designed an enigmatic apartment for himself that today has become the Museo Casa Mollino.… (más)