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)
Carpet Stilema 6 Rectangular in Non-slip Polyester & Polyamide
By Alessandro Mendini, Qeeboo
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Alessandro Mendini has often thought of his project as a system of signs that are now simple, now complex, intertwined with each other, and infinitely developed on objects, houses, f...
Polyester
cc-tapis Xequer A Rug by Martino Gamper
By Martino Gamper, cc-tapis
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Hand knotted rug in Nepal in the cc-tapis atelier in Kathmandu. The Tibetan knot is made with Himalayan wool, cotton weave, pure silk and linen coming from the areas surrounding the ...
Cotton
cc-tapis DO YOU HAVE ONE? (RECTANGULAR) handmade rug by India Mahdavi
By India Mahdavi, cc-tapis
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A collection of hand-knotted rugs which seamlessly merges the worlds of art and design, using graphic elements to create a visual language that is both cryptic and playful. India Ma...
Wool
cc-tapis WHAT DO WE ALL WANT? handmade rug by India Mahdavi
By India Mahdavi, cc-tapis
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A collection of hand-knotted rugs which seamlessly merges the worlds of art and design, using graphic elements to create a visual language that is both cryptic and playful. India Ma...
Wool
cc-tapis WHAT DO WE ALL NEED? handmade rug by India Mahdavi
By cc-tapis, India Mahdavi
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A collection of hand-knotted rugs which seamlessly merges the worlds of art and design, using graphic elements to create a visual language that is both cryptic and playful. India Ma...
Wool
cc-tapis Xequer C Rug by Martino Gamper
By Martino Gamper, cc-tapis
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Hand knotted in the cc-tapis atelier in Kathmandu, Nepal. The rug is made with a cotton weave and a Himalayan wool, pure silk and linen, coming from the areas surrounding the atelier...
Cotton
1993 Alessandro Mendini Interflex Postmodern Design Wall Hanging Tapestry
By Alessandro Mendini, Interflex
Located in Brescia, IT
"Victorian" Tapestry designer Alessandro Mendini prod. Interflex 1993 Screen-printing on quilted Fabric Tapestry Label manufacture sewing on the back Perfect Condiction Limited edi...
Fabric
Dune - Alessandro Mendini Modern Design Rug Carpet Wool Cotton Handknotted
By Alessandro Mendini
Located in MILANO, ML
Dune - Alessandro Mendini Modern Design Rug Carpet Wool Cotton Handknotted 'Wild Furs' is a rugs project with a theme: the coat of a wild animal, combined, with references from toda...
Wool
NDP28 Woollen Carpet by Nathalie du Pasquier for Post Design Collection/Memphis
By Nathalie du Pasquier
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
NDP28 woollen carpet by Nathalie du Pasquier for Post Design collection/Memphis A woollen carpet handcrafted by different Nepalese artisans. Made in a limited edition of 36 signed...
Wool
Small Riviera Woollen Carpet by Nathalie du Pasquier for Memphis Milano Collecti
By Nathalie du Pasquier, Memphis Milano
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Small riviera woollen carpet by Nathalie Du Pasquier for Memphis Milano collection A woollen carpet handcrafted by different Nepalese artisans. As the carpet is made by hand, t...
Wool
NDP53 Woollen Carpet by Nathalie du Pasquier for Post Design Collection/Memphis
By Nathalie du Pasquier
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
NDP53 woollen carpet by Nathalie Du Pasquier for Post Design collection/Memphis A woollen carpet handcrafted by different Nepalese artisans. Made in a limited edition of 36 signed...
Wool
Tapigri Rug by Nathalie Du Pasquier
By Nathalie du Pasquier
Located in Geneve, CH
Tapigri rug by Nathalie Du Pasquier Dimensions: 140 x 200 cm Made to order creations can be done. Tapigri is a construction of layered...
Other
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.
