Joe Colombo (1930 - 1971)

Joe Colombo is one of the most famous Italian designers from the 20th Century. He is famous for his futurist and fantastic design and for the modularity and the functionality of his pieces of furniture.

Prolific designer, his pieces are still legendary and through the ages thanks to their modernity. He was the first designer to use integrally molded plastic as shown in the mythic armchair Universale (1967). He was attached to the modular function so he designed in 1969 and 1970 the Tube-chair and the Multi-chair.


Biography

Joe Colombo was born in 1930 in Italy. He studied painting at the Beaux-arts academy of Brera then architecture to the Polytechnic Institute of Milan. He began his career as a painter and member of the Movimento Nucleare. Following his father’s death in 1959, he had to manage the familial company. Therefore, he began a designer career. Three years later, he founded his own design agency. He was interested in daily pieces of furniture and in their functions: modularity and flexibility. He liked to add his “anti-design” vision: design has to take advantage on architectural lines. He developed a futurist style which quickly seduced. He won many prizes including the Compasso d’Oro. Colombo is one of the most important designers of the 20th Century.