Enzo Mari (1932-2020) was an Italian
designer,
graphic designer, illustrator and artist. His works range from design to painting, from graphics to gallery displays. He was both a teacher and a political activist. Today he is considered one of the greatest theorists of design.
His works have been featured at the Venice Biennale, the Milan Triennale, the Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin, the MIC in Faenza, the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome and the MoMA in New York. He was awarded the Golden Compass in 1986, a form of acknowledgement he had already been given in 1967 and 1979, as well as the International Design Center Prize in 1987 in New York. In 2008, the GAM in Turin dedicated a retrospective solo show to his work. Among his more recent writings, we might note:
Progetto e passione (2001),
La valigia senza manico (2004) and
25 modi per piantare un chiodo (2011).