Enzo Mari

Enzo Mari (born 1932) is a noted Italian modernist artist and furniture designer. He draws inspiration from the idealism of the arts and crafts movement, and his political views as a communist.

Mari was born in Novara, Italy and he studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy from 1952-1956 In the 1960s, published a series of books, including "The Apple and the Butterfly," a wordless book of paintings depicting the story of a caterpillar and an apple. In the 1970s, he founded the Nuova Tendenza art movement as a professor at Società Umanitaria, also in Milan. Also in that decade, he designed the Sof Sof chair and the "Box" chair.

In 1974, Enzo Mari made the book Autoprogettazione, which deals around the DIY construction of furniture. In the 1980s, he designed the modernist Tonietta chair.

Mari has taught at University of Parma (Parma), the Accademia Carrara (Carrara), Milan Polytechnic and ISIA (Florence), the Hochschule der Künste (Berlin), and the "Hochschule für angewandte Kunst" in Vienna. He has had recent retrospective shows in Turin, Italy, and an important presentation of his work in "Adhocracy" show, during the first Istanbul Design Biennial.