La Selettiva del Mobile di Cantù #13
Exactly seventy years ago, an important initiative in the history of design, and undoubtedly the most significant in the evolution of this renowned furniture center, was inaugurated in Cantù. The Concorso Internazionale del Mobile, followed by the Prima Mostra Selettiva, the public display of award-winning designs created by highly skilled artisans, marked the beginning of a biennial event that lasted for twenty years, from 1955 to 1975. It attracted the most important international architects and designers, both as juries (from Alvar Aalto to Gio Ponti, from George Nelson to Carlo Mollino, to name a few) and as competition participants, to engage in the renewal of Italy’s historic manufacturing district, helping to make it known throughout the world.
The first edition received 217 projects from 21 different country, reaching a record number in 1959 with 627 projects by 924 designers. Among the largest number of participants, in addition to Italy, were those from Scandinavia, Germany, England, and the United States. Names already well-known along with others who would soon become so, included Ilmari Tapiovaara, Werner Blaser, Lina Bo Bardi, Carlo Hauner, Taichiro Nakay, Donato D’Urbino, Gianfranco Frattini, Erik Ullrich, Sven Staaf, Sergio Rodrigues, Peter Karpf, Eero Aarnio, Angelo Mangiarotti, and many more.
Many projects remained anonymous because they were not awarded prizes and therefore never realized, and these could still hold surprises today: there is no certainty about Ettore Sottsass’s participation, although the design for a piece of furniture with a strong totemic character and a wall mirror with a drawer are reminiscent of the celebrated Milanese architect’s experiments. Or this pair of stackable beechwood chairs, first produced in 1995 from a 1959 design by a Scandinavian designer, whose details hark back to the design research of Danish designer Hans J. Wegner.
Many non-competition projects were also presented at the second edition in 1957: from the BBPR single bedroom to Guglielmo Ulrich’s writing desk, from Marco Zanuso’s study to Carlo De Carli’s armchairs and Gio Ponti’s master bedroom, with textiles also designed by him, as well as the objects placed in the furniture compartments and executed in enameled copper by Paolo De Poli.
The objects of Paduan Paolo De Poli will be a constant feature in the Selective Exhibitions, so much so that they will be featured in numerous editions as furnishing accessories alongside those of other leading manufacturers. From Fontana Arte crystals to Sabattini silverware, from Finn Form wood objects to Lucio Fontana and Franco Meneguzzo ceramics, from Stilux lamps to Gegia Bronzini carpets, including fabrics, basketry, and more, they demonstrate how even the objects themselves were the result of careful selection.
The close collaboration with the Milan Triennale ensured the high international profile of the juries called upon to evaluate the quality of the submitted designs: from Alvar Aalto to Gio Ponti, from Fin Juhl to Carlo De Carli in the first competition in 1955, followed in subsequent editions by Carlo Mollino, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Ignazio Gardella, Arne Jacobsen, George Nelson, Marco Zanuso, and Vico Magistretti. The 1963 edition saw the participation of Paul Really (first from left), Finn Juhl, Franco Albini, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, and the Cantù-born artisan Spartaco Brugnoli, pictured here testing the comfort of a chair.
The graphics are also of the highest quality, with Marcello Nizzoli’s poster inaugurating the First Selection in 1955, followed by Bruno Munari’s catalogs featuring the famous “clamp” on the cover, which became the event’s iconic logo. Sought after by historians and collectors, they are considered extremely rare documents.
Explore this magnificent story of Italian creativity in our HISTORICAL collection and in the BOOKSHOP