enzo mari and gabriele pezzini

‘box’ by enzo mari
image © designboom

enzo mari and gabriele pezzini : che fare galerie alain gutharc, paris
from january 9th to february 20th, 2010

‘che fare’ is an exhibition that bypasses the clichés of the production routine of objects
and wishes to stimulate a critical discussion on the situation of industrial design today
and in general.

‘box’ and ‘frate’ by enzo mari, a view into the exhibition
image © designboom

the small exhibit stems from the idea of comparing the work of two authors who agree
upon several aspects of their working practices in spite of having been formed in
very different periods of time.

‘box’ by enzo mari, produced by castelli, 1971
image © designboom

… two designers who have been formed in very different periods of time.
what they seek is a perfect balance between constraints of marketing, production
and manufacturer’s culture, in an attempt to evolve a form that is efficient and durable –
a standard that survives passing fads and decorative caprices to impose a reference.

‘frate’ by enzo mari, produced by driade, 1973
image © designboom

detail of ‘frate’ by enzo mari
image © designboom

detail of ‘frate’ by enzo mari
image © designboom

‘che fare’ (what to do) – a question without a question mark.

‘does this emptiness refer to my person only?
what are the other million ‘designers’ – most of them young designers – doing?
I guess that all of them want a non-alienated job and I know the majority doesn’t find one.
some designers dream of a possible transformation, …
generally, a product comes to life in the dialogue between a designer and an entrepreneur.
the designer is responsible for the ‘shape’, entrepreneurs are responsible for the
economic aspects of the product’s realization, and also of how to impose it
on a fiercely competitive market.
from my own experience I realized that a good product can be created when a practical
and efficient entrepreneur embraces at least 20% of the designer’s utopia!
this happens very rarely.’
enzo mari

‘delta’ and ‘sof sof’ by enzo mari
image © designboom