Beautiful coat rack with umbrella stand and storage tray designed by Enzo Mari, manufactured by Danese, Italy in 1968.
This original piece is completely made of black plastic with a strong concrete base, providing extra stability. It is uniquely designed to be as multifunctional as a coat rack can be: with large and smaller upper hooks for hanging coats, an umbrella holder at the bottom and an extra storage tray in the middle for scarves or other small objects. It is an iconic piece of midcentury Italian design, from a period when designers experimented with materials, manufacturing processes and smart interior solutions.
In good original condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful patina.
Enzo Mari (born 1932) is a noted Italian modernist artist and furniture designer. He draws inspiration from the idealism of the arts and crafts movement, and his political views as a communist.
Mari was born in Novara, Italy and he studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy from 1952-1956. In the 1960s, published a series of books, including “The Apple and the Butterfly,” a wordless book of paintings depicting the story of a caterpillar and an apple.
In the 1970s, he founded the Nuova Tendenza art movement as a professor at Società Umanitaria, also in Milan. Also in that decade, he designed the Sof Sof chair and the “Box” chair. In 1974, Enzo Mari made the book Autoprogettazione, which deals around the DIY construction of furniture. Mari has taught at University of Parma (Parma), the Accademia Carrara (Carrara), Milan Polytechnic and ISIA (Florence), the Hochschule der Künste (Berlin), and the “Hochschule für angewandte Kunst” in Vienna.
He has multiple works on display at the Museum of Modern Art (New York). He has had recent retrospective shows in Turin, Italy, and an important presentation of his work in “Adhocracy” show, during the first Istanbul Design Biennial.
