Rodolfo Bonetto

A unique individual in the Italian design scenario in the last 30 years, Rodolfo Bonetto (1929-1991), abandoned a flourishing career as a jazz drummer with the famous “Italian Sextet” to devote himself full-time to his new profession. Self-taught, he was so completely oriented toward design practices that he made a significant contribution to industrial design education at the Hochschule für Gestaltung of Ulm and, later, at ISIA [School of Industrial Design] in Rome. Bonetto successfully designed products for a very diverse range of users: from machine tools to automobiles, household appliances and home furnishings – like the Boomerang armchair designed in 1968 for Flexform. Of all these types of products, it was always the technological component that most fascinated him, a unique trait that set him apart from the majority of Italian designers, traditionally more connected to the world of furniture. He received eight Compasso d’Oro awards, the last one for his professional career. He served twice as president of ADI (Association for Industrial Design) and president of ICSID (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design). He is recognized as one of the founding fathers of Italian design.