Stefano Casciani chronicles Alessandro Mendini's dazzling oeuvre in a comprehensive monograph published by Phaidon.
Text: Sandra Hofmeister
Fifteen years ago, I asked Alessandro Mendini about the prospects for the design world in the coming decades during an exhibition in Munich. The designer, eclecticist and provocateur was 79 years old at the time, and his multifaceted work had long been world-famous. He insisted on conducting most of the interview for stylepark.com in German – a language he had been familiar with since childhood. “Design has hardly any critics. Architecture and literature, on the other hand, have many critics, some of whom can even kill with words. In the design world, we all love each other,” he said, smiling gently in his own reserved and charmingly mischievous way. Calm and modest. Among his many other outstanding abilities, Alessandro Mendini was a philanthropist and connoisseur of the design scene like no other. At times, he became a thoughtful critic of his own profession. His judgement always came without grand gestures or loud fanfare, which made it all the more convincing.
Alessandro Mendini and Franco Migliaccio painting the Poltrona di Proust,1988, photo by Giuseppe Ragusa, Alessandro Mendini Archive (page 67,bottom left)
Stages of a multifaceted life
Alessandro Mendini died on 18 February 2019, about five years ago. Only now has the first comprehensive monograph on his life's work been published – and it's about time! Stefano Casciani begins the 300-page Phaidon volume, subtitled ‘Alessandro Mendini: Imagination Takes Command,’ with personal words to his friend. ‘Ciao, Sandro!’ are the farewell words in his letter, which sets the right tone for the entire monograph. Casciani captures stories and background information in a friendly and respectful manner, delves into research and reveals the many faces of Alessandro Mendini. The designer's humour, which had a lasting impact on Mendini's life's work, is also given its due. In this respect, the monograph is both a tribute and a memory that brings ideas to life.
Atelier Mendini, studio of Alessandro and Francesco Mendini on Via Sannio,Milan, 1989, photo Emilio Neri Tremolada (page 166, top) On the wallpaintings by Alessandro Mendini
Mendini was an architect and designer, curator and editor-in-chief of Casabella, Modo and Domus, art director for several companies and ambassador for the little things in life that bring a smile to everyday life. In a total of ten chapters, all these facets of the designer's life are traced, from Studio Alchimia to postmodernism, from the Radical Design performances of the 1970s to built architectural projects such as the ‘Torre Paradiso’ for Expo 1989 in Hiroshima or the art museum in Groningen, which opened in 1994. Together with his brother Francesco, Alessandro worked at Atelier Mendini in Milan from 1989 onwards. The two architects designed office buildings and tram stops, swimming pools and media centres. Architecture is also part of the many facets of Alessandro Mendini's work, although it is sometimes overshadowed by his world-famous product designs for everyday objects.
La Punta pavilion for the Seoul Design Fair, Olympic Stadium Seoul, South Korea, 2010, drawing, felt-tip pen and coloured pencils on paper, 21 x 29.7cm, Alessandro Mendini Archive (page 231, image 159)
Humour and rebellion
The sophisticated chapters of the monograph form systematic focal points. ‘Proust: a Kitsch Revolution for the Common Man’ is the section that not only presents the design of the ‘Poltrona Proust’ (1978), but also Mendini's ironic and humorous reactions to design classics as a whole – from Bauhaus to Gerrit Rietveld. In Italy, design was able to playfully free itself from the strict rules of functionalism imposed by the Bauhaus school, and Mendini was one of the spearheads of this movement. Design as a counter-reaction – even today, the designer's projects from that era show that design does not have to be joyless and black and white, but can be colourful and playful, ironic and sometimes not at all focused on utility. In Alessandro Mendini's incomparable sketches, people and texts, objects and speech bubbles wriggle around, bringing his world of design and ideas back to life. Brightly coloured in the spirit of Memphis – Mendini was part of the rebellion instigated by his friend Ettore Sottsass in 1980 – the pages and chapters of the book are also designed in this style. The graphics by the Milan studio La Tigre skilfully translate Mendini's irony and zest for life onto the pages of the book, playfully and confidently, without pandering or imitating. The pink linen cover of the monograph features a retouched photograph of a great ape. Mendini acquired the postcard at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and added a halo to the gorilla with a ballpoint pen.
Alessandro M & Anna G Orchestra, musical carillon for Alessi, 2003,Collection Museo Alessi, Archivio fotofrafico Alessi (page 233, top, image161)
Friendships and living objects
The monograph is also a book about the friendships that accompanied Mendini's life. Hans Hollein and Italo Lupi, Aurelio Zanotta and, of course, Ettore Sottsas appear repeatedly in the many photos in the publication. Even for the great maestro, design processes did not fall from the sky; they were the successful result of teamwork and ongoing intellectual exchange. One of Alessandro Mendini's most important partners was Alberto Alessi. Numerous bestsellers from the former family-owned kitchen utensil company – today Alessi is majority-owned by a British investment company – can be traced back to the constant dialogue between Alberto and ‘Sandro’. With the ‘Alessandro M’ corkscrew for Alessi, Mendini found a way to introduce the fine line between fun and kitsch into the world of kitchen objects and integrate it into everyday life. He designed the corkscrew as a creature with human features, including entire families with parents and children, and dressed the figures in special clothes for festive occasions. And somehow, the entire project also contains a kind of self-portrait. Casciani concludes his book with a chapter consisting solely of sketches, entitled ‘In the Garden of Eden.’ By the time I reach these final pages, it becomes clear to me what a gap Alessandro Mendini has left in the design world. Not only in product design, but also as a mentor, critic and creative mind who oversaw the entire scene and always remained confident. To this day, no one has filled this gap. That is why I miss Alessandro Mendini, and why this monograph is all the more valuable.
Stefano Casciani, „Alessandro Mendini“, Hardcover, 300 pages, 305x238 cm, 300 illustrations, Phaidon, London 2025, ISBN 978 1 83866 867 9
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