Italian Design: An unseen desk by Carlo Mollino in the spotlight
 

As the PAD Paris fair prepares to open its doors, Artcurial is organising its Italian Design sale on March 28^th. The highlight of the sale is an important desk made by Carlo Mollino in the 1950s for the Casa editrice Lattes in Turin, estimated €250,000 - 350,000. Designed by the famous Italian architect and designer for the furnishing of the Turin publishing house in the 1950s, this desk is considered one of the masterpieces of the artist, who died 50 years ago. Presented for the first time at auction after having been kept for almost 40 years in a private collection, the desk offers a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire an original piece illustrating the creative genius of Carlo Mollino.

The Casa editrice Lattes desk, a daring model with an exceptional provenance

Designed by Carlo Mollino for the Casa editrice Lattes, for which he was commissioned to design all the furniture, between 1951 and 1954, this model was built by the Apelli & Varesio cabinetmaking workshop, in only two copies. The desk is characterised by a light and organic construction but also by balanced shapes and voids with elegantly combined materials. A fine example of the unique architectural and aerodynamic designs for which Mollino was best known, illustrating both his artistic, technical daring and his unique aesthetic.

Carlo Mollino, a modern-day polymath

Devoting himself as much to art as to technique, Carlo Mollino embodies the modern figure of the Renaissance polymath such as Leonardo da Vinci: a cultivated intellectual, architect and talented furniture designer, he was also aerobatic pilot, skier, teacher, writer and photographer. Son of an engineer and architect by profession, he marked the 20^th century with his audacious creations. He is inspired by nature for its beauty and fascinating ingenuity, seeking to transcribe lightness and dynamism in his architectural works and in his furniture. Free from any fixed ideological position, he defines a complex aesthetic and eclectic forms that leave nothing to chance. Most of his creations are unique and experimental, in contrast to the mass production of the time.

Information
Video information
Presented by Fulvio Ferrari, co-founder of museum Casa Mollino in Turi

Exhibition
From March 24^th to 27^th, 2023
From 11am to 6pm
Closed on Sunday, March 26^th

Auction
Italian Design
Tuesday, March 28^th - 6pm

Contact
Justine Posalski
Tél. +33 1 42 99 20 80