MARIO GODANI: MIRRORING DESIGN
Alessandro Mendini, Collezione 2008 Mania, mobile bar in fiberglass e legno laccato con intarsi in ottone dorato, 125x45xh165 cm. Edizione limitata. Ph. credits Ruy Teixeira
ENG
The authoritative perspective of the founder of Design Gallery Milano. Design as a tool for dialogue and culture. An impartial voice, a neutral standpoint that conveys the emotion behind a design piece, without altering its original function. On the eve of Milan Design Week, what perspective could be more authoritative than Mario Godani’ s? We turned to an expert in the field, someone who has merged innate passion with professionalism and dedication, carving out a prestigious position in the design world. A founding member and executive producer of Memphis, which redefined the role of contemporary design, Mario Godani went on to create, in the 1980s, Design Gallery Milano with his wife Brunella, a space that has established itself over time for its visionary spirit, as well as the research and experimentation of evocative furniture pieces. A pioneering approach, in short, to an emotional interpretation of design.
“ I am a man of the past. Things change very quickly. My training and my origins are completely different from the scenario that we see today. With this, I don’ t want to sound too negative, but I have, let’ s say, a critical view of what is happening nowadays.”
What do you regret from a few decades ago?“ Everything was easier, more natural. People were more positive, and more space was given to creativity. The idea was that by dealing with design, one could communicate something beyond just the furniture. For example, there was a lot of emphasis on collections, not on individual pieces.”
What is your view on contemporary design?“ There’ s an incredible advancement in technology. However, when you look at the final result, there is a total flattening of creativity. Paradoxically, pursuing high-level processes ends up being very similar to something else. Design was born as a possibility to create different elements. Branzi and Sottsass questioned the direction in which design was heading, and at first, I refused to number individual pieces. Eventually, we reached the compromise of releasing only a limited series of pieces from various collections.”
What does design mean to you?“ In just a few words, it’ s a tool to tell stories and to engage in discussions … It’ s a cultural means of communication, therefore. However, the world inevitably changes …”
Let’ s take a step back. How did your involvement in the industry begin?“ Actually, I started by working in theatre productions, and in this field, I learned the importance of discipline. My meeting with Ettore Sottsass was decisive. When the idea of bringing back into production the pieces he had made for Poltronova was proposed to him, he responded with the idea of creating something entirely new: this led to the birth of the Memphis movement, which aimed to completely break with everything that had been done before. According to Sottsass, Memphis, like any other movement in history, was supposed to last five years, and he was wrong about that … Design Gallery Milano was born with the idea of hosting designers who could work in complete freedom, without any constraints, except for the need to simply represent themselves. My wife and I decided not to get too involved in individual pieces, adopting a very neutral position, thus hosting more than one collection per year.”
Research works and avant-garde, but also an unstoppable creative drive … designgallerymilano. com
Project Director Rita Baiguera Graphic Designer Cristina Zanacchi Intervista Stefania Vitale