Alessandro Mendini was born in Milan in 1931. Through his work as an architect, designer, journalist, theorist and publisher, Mendini helped establish the Italian design sensibility on a global scale with a particular focus on neo-modern, avant-garde design as well as the crossover between art, design and architecture.
Mendini’s influential work spanned the arenas of graphics, furniture, interiors, architecture, stage design, writing and painting. He graduated from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1959, and he began his career at the studio of artist-designer Marcello Nizzoli. He went on to become the publisher of the popular magazines Casabella (1970–76), Modo and Domus (each 1979–85).
In 1979, Mendini joined Ettore Sottsass and Michele de Lucchi as a partner at Studio Alchimia, a harbinger of the Memphis Group before he cofounded Domus Academy in 1982. In 1989, he and his brother Francesco established their architectural practice, Atelier Mendini, in Milan, where he worked until his death in February 2019. In recognition of his outstanding body of work, Mendini was awarded the Compasso d’Oro twice, in 1979 and 1981. He was also honored by the Architectural League of New York, made Chevalier des Arts et Lettres in France, and, in 2014, he was awarded the European Prize for Architecture.
Mendini’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among others.
Find vintage Alessandro Mendini chairs, vases, table lamps and other furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by STUDIO CADMIUM)
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Vase Topaz
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st Century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases ...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemella Murano Glass Vase Amber Yellow
By Purho Murano, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st Century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLA transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases d...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Petalo Large Vase Amber
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo large vase 3 petals, Murano glass. Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed shapes that resembl...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Small Vase Honey
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo small vase, 6 petals, Murano glass, various colors Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed sha...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Gemello Murano Vase Amber Yellow
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st Century Alessandro Mendini, GEMELLO transparent vase, Murano glass. Purho continues to search for products with complementary shapes with the pair of Gemello and Gemella vases ...
Murano Glass
21st Century Alessandro Mendini Murano Glass Small Vase Coffee
By Alessandro Mendini, Purho Murano
Located in Brembate di Sopra (BG), IT
21st century Alessandro Mendini, Petalo small vase, 6 petals, Murano glass, various colors Petal is a rounded vase that, thanks to some fine metal wires, when blown creates lobed sha...
Murano Glass
Venini Acco 706.70 Pesca/Lattimo - Glass Vase Alessandro Mendini - Damiani
By Alessandro Mendini, Venini
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: Venini Designer: Alessandro Mendini Model: Acco 706.70 Collection: Acco Made in: Italy Add an artistic and sophisticated touch to your interior with this iconic Murano glass ...
Glass
Venini Acco 706.70 Orizzonte/Lattimo - Glass Vase Alessandro Mendini - Damiani
By Alessandro Mendini, Venini
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: Venini Designer: Alessandro Mendini Model: Acco 706.70 Collection: Acco Made in: Italy Add an artistic and sophisticated touch to your interior with this iconic Murano glass ...
Glass
Italian Murano Glass Vase by Alessandro Mendini for Venini, Italy
By Venini, Alessandro Mendini
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Large vase Simirone in blown glass intertwined polychrome canes on a base in faceted glass block designed by Alessandro Mendini for Venini in circa 1989. Limited edition of 50 pieces...
Blown Glass
Venini Acco 706.70 Rosa Cipria/Lattimo - Glass Vase Alessandro Mendini - Damiani
By Alessandro Mendini, Venini
Located in Varedo, MB
Brand: Venini Designer: Alessandro Mendini Model: Acco 706.70 Collection: Acco Made in: Italy Add an artistic and sophisticated touch to your interior with this iconic Murano glass ...
Glass
Murano Glass "Goccia" Vase by Mandruzzato, Mid-Century Modern, 40 cm Tall
By Mandruzzato
Located in Venezia, IT
Goccia Vase – A Murano Glass Icon, from the 1960s to Today Originally designed in the 1960s by Alessandro’s grandfather in a In its extra-large size, the Goccia Vase has become a tim...
Murano Glass
Italian Murano Glass Vase Berito Model by Alessandro Mendini for Venini
By Alessandro Mendini, Venini
Located in Asti, Piemonte
Alessandro Mendini for Venini, Berito glass vase, with vertical pink stripes, incised mark and dated with applied circular label. Exhibited at Tingo design gallery in 2008 for the ex...
Murano Glass
Alessandro Mendini, Michael Graves, Ettore Sottsass and other design luminaries contributed to this unusual collection of porcelain wares representing a time capsule of late-20th-century decorative art.
Aided by photos taken of the maestro in his Milan studio, we honor the influential design talent who died last month at 87.
