Carlo Mollino

Carlo Mollino (1905-1973) was one of the most eccentric and peculiar figures of Italian architectural design in the twentieth century. Born, lived and died in Turin, son of an important engineer, Mollino was many things at the same time: dandy and grand viveur, skilled skier (a discipline he taught and on which he wrote a famous manual), passionate car driver (in the 1950s he raced the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans on a car designed and engineered by himself) and acrobatic airplanes, refined photographer (often with an erotic theme). But he was above all an architect, and he was in his own way, pursuing an extreme and baroque style that earned him as many admirers as he was detractors. Among his most famous works were the Teatro Regio in Turin and Casa Garelli in Champoluc. However, what remains of him most are his furnishings, with bold and sinuous curves, often inspired by the shapes of the female body, heirs of the suggestions of Surrealism and in turn prefiguring the trend towards Biomorphism that will take root in international design starting from the years '50. Behind the dreamlike or mobile appearance of Mollino hide a rigorous engineering precision, recovered with the utmost philological scruple from the reissues that Zanotta has been offering exclusively since 1982.