Fornasetti: the complete universe

Fornasetti "The complete universe"

I have met Piero Fornasetti a few times when visiting his eclectic store which many years ago was situated along via Brera, in Milan, or simply seeing him suddenly appear on his bike wandering around the narrow streets of the city center. He was quite a personality, a real talent, an artist, a designer, a decorator and many other definitions we could use, with a passion for everything eccentric, magical, surreal.

Piero Fornasetti

Finally his vast archive has been organized by his son Barnaba, who continues the family business and published in two volumes by Electa, now translated in English and published by Rizzoli with the title "Fornasetti: the complete universe".
700 pages and 3.000 images, a joy for Fornasetti fans like me.

Fornasetti

The favorite shape used by Fornasetti for his decorated cups, a cylinder which so well shows the different patterns he created (at one point 40 different decorations, plus the solid colored ones )

Fornasetti

On the left a chair designed by Gio' Ponti, produced by Cassina and decorated by Fornasetti with Farfalle motif, 1950. On the right a whimsical chair "Moro" again 1950's.
It is important to know that with Gio' Ponti, (one of the most important Italian architects, industrial designers, furniture designers, artists, and publishers of the twentieth century) Fornasetti realized many private and public projects, one designing, the other decorating... and a lifelong friendship developed between those two Milanese icons in the world of design.


From Fornasetti website (I am sure you'll enjoy browsing it, quite entertaining)
"Beloved for transforming everyday objects into works of art that featured his idiosyncratic designs, Piero Fornasetti (1913–1988) is recognized one of the world’s most inventive and creative minds. Now, in FORNASETTI: The Complete Universe (Rizzoli; November 2010), Barnaba Fornasetti—who continues to carry on the tradition of the Fornasetti atelier—celebrates his father’s legacy by offering readers a look inside the wonderous world that is Fornasetti".

Images from Fornasetti Archives
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