Joe Colombo

Following his studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera [Brera Academy of Fine Arts], in the early 1950s, Joe Colombo joined the Nuclear Painting movement with Enrico Baj. Shortly thereafter, in the early 1960s, he re-focused on architecture and interior design and began his career as a designer. The work of Colombo not only places emphasis on materials but is also characterized by flexibility and modularity, concepts clearly visible in the Tube Chair, produced and sold by Flexform until 1976, and the Multi Chair that, through very simple combinations, has countless uses. The Colombo genius is also expressed in the creation of trade show stands, as well as in numerous design objects, including automobiles, watches, glassware and much more. His last works were multifunctional living units and interiors in which Colombo pursued his goal of making conventional furniture superfluous by combining them into a new form of furnishings able to provide the utmost in comfort and maximum functionality. The impressive body of work of Joe Colombo, who died in 1971 on his 40th birthday, is the result of a decade of production marked by obsessive research into new ideas and designs.