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World-class art, architecture and design
Marcello Morandini is regarded as the main Italian representative of Neo-Constructivism and Concrete Art. He is a master of simple complexity and combines art, design and architecture in his work like almost no other artist. Morandini has been one of Italy’s most important contemporary artists since the end of the 1960s.
Renowned museums such as the Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) have dedicated large solo shows to Morandini. In addition to exhibitions, Marcello Morandini has developed numerous international art-in-building projects. Marcello Morandini’s works are part of major collections worldwide. Since 2016, the Marcello Morandini Foundation in Varese has represented the artist’s work with a permanent museum exhibition.
Prestigious architectural projects in Asia and Europe
Many of Marcello Morandini’s works can be seen as architectural models and were created internationally for public spaces. He left his mark on his home town of Varese in particular with the design of Piazza Monte Grappa, Piazza Casula and the Fondazione Marcello Morandini. In 1982, he began a long-term collaboration with the architecture firms Mario Miraglia in Varese and Ong & Ong in Singapore; one of the most spectacular results of this partnership was the Goldhill Centre in Singapore. In 1984, he was commissioned by Rosenthal to design the façade of the Thomas porcelain factory in Speichersdorf, and three years later he did the same for Rosenthal’s new administration building in Selb. As a tribute to Philip Rosenthal, Morandini created an 11 meter high sculpture for the European Industrial Museum of Porcelain in Selb.
A striking oeuvre in elegant black and white
The characteristically elegant interplay of black and white in combination with basic geometric shapes makes Marcello Morandini’s works unmistakable. In addition to his successful work as an artist and architect, Marcello Morandini also repeatedly created highly acclaimed design objects, in particular at the invitation of Philipp Rosenthal for the Rosenthal porcelain manufactory, but also furniture, carpets, lamps, etc. The master’s preferred materials are glossy acrylic glass panels, lacquered wood and polished natural stone (white marble and black granite).
Awards and honors
2003:
– Appointment as professor at the Accademia di Brera, Milan, Italy
2004:
– “Honorary Royal Designer for Industry” by the Royal Society of Arts, London, United Kingdom
Exhibition overview
– IX. Biennale Sao Paulo, Brazil
– XXXIV Venice Biennale, Italy
– documenta 6, Kassel, Germany
– Kunsthalle Cologne, Germany
– Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, USA
– Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
– Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
– Neues Museum, Nuremberg, Germany
– Art Museum, Bern, Switzerland
– Bayreuth Art Museum, Germany
– National Museum of China, Beijing, China
– Museo Arte Contemporáneo, Lima, Peru
– Seiji Togo Sompo Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan
Works in public space
– Piazza Monte Grappa and Piazza Casula, Varese, Italy
– Goodhill Center, Singapore
– Goodhill Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
– Facade Manufactory Thomas, Speichersdorf, Germany
– Facade Rosenthal, Selb, Germany
– Façade of Das Kleine Museum, Weissenstadt, Germany
– Exterior sculpture for the Museum of Concrete Art, Ingolstadt, Germany
– Exterior sculpture for the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany
– Exterior sculpture for the Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
– Exterior sculpture for the European Museum of Industry, Plößberg, Germany
Early world successes in São Paolo, Venice and Kassel
Marcello Morandini was born in Mantua on May 15, 1940 and grew up in Varese in north-western Lombardy from 1947. After studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, he initially worked as an industrial designer and commercial artist.
At the beginning of the 1960s, he created his first sculptural works. After his first solo exhibition in Genoa in 1965 and internationally very successful exhibitions in Milan, Frankfurt and Cologne, he was invited to the IX Biennale of São Paolo in Brazil. In 1968, a separate room was dedicated to him in the Italian pavilion at the XXXIV Venice Biennale. In 1972, Morandini’s first museum exhibition in Germany was presented by the Kestnergesellschaft in Hanover. In 1977, Morandini took part in Documenta 6 in Kassel.
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