Joe Colombo (Milan, 1930–1971) was one of the greatest designers of the 20th century: a multifaceted, visionary genius, capable of turning ideas into real objects that are still striking today for their modern flair.
After an educational background at the Brera Academy and at the Politecnico of Milan, Joe Colombo began a prolific career and, in just a couple of decades, succeeded in expressing his innovative vision of the world as a dynamic modular living space pivoting on man and his existence. His all-embracing designs, whether for home interiors or urban planning, were based on technological solutions and new materials meant to satisfy every need, shaping the space and the objects in it, and favoring the daily activities of humans.
His ingenious ideas led him to the creation of futuristic furnishings, legendary icons of Italian design: the Acrilica lamp (gold medal at the XIII Milan Triennale of 1964), the Tube Chair (today in the permanent collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Louvre in Paris), the Spider lamp (awarded with the Compasso d’Oro in 1967), the Boby trolley (S.M.A.U. Prize in 1971), and the “multi-function mobile units,” such as Minikitchen (silver medal at the XIII Milan Triennale of 1964), or the Total Furnishing Unit, today at the MoMA in New York.
This volume edited by Ignazia Favata, Joe Colombo’s historical assistant since 1968, accompanied by an essay by Domitilla Dardi, is the first catalogue raisonné devoted to his work, documenting over 200 designs with specific focus on the items that are still in production after fifty years.

Contents

A Short Foreword
Ignazia Favata

Notes to Readers

Joe Colombo: A Portrait
Ignazia Favata

Back to the Future
Domitilla Dardi

International Press Digest

1962-2020
Current Production

1952-2020
Work Catalogue

Appendix

Life and Work Chronology
Designs Grouped by Category
Exhibitions, Acknowledgments, Collections, Publications
Selected Bibliography