The life of maverick Italian designer Joe Colombo (1930–1971) may have been short, but his future-focused vision of intelligent technology and integrated living environments had a revolutionary impact on mid-century design. Colombo’s diverse career began in the world of fine art, studying painting and sculpture at the Brera Academy of Fine Art in his hometown of Milan. He gravitated towards the avant-garde art scene, becoming part of the Movimento Nucleare (Nuclear Movement) of painters, founded by Sergio Dangelo and Enrico Baj, who, inspired by mounting international anxiety about nuclear war, challenged the boundaries of painting with organic forms.
IN TUNE WITH THE ZEITGEIST
Captivated by the zeitgeist of the Atomic Era, Colombo believed that he could create the environment of the future, and that the emerging language of interior design he was helping to shape would result in seamlessly integrated living environments rather than individual pieces of furniture. His progressive work was driven by the desire to create objects that were independent of the architecture that contained them, and could adapt to suit any space, now or in future.
Tragically, Colombo died suddenly on his 41st birthday in 1971, and so the full extent of his potential was perhaps never realized. Today his work is held within permanent collections and showcased within exhibitions at institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and Design Museum in London, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Through Studio Joe Colombo, now run by his former assistant, the architect Ignazia Favata, his legacy lives on.
