Sergio Asti (25 May 1926 – 27 July 2021) was an Italian designer and architect, primarily known for his industrial designs for firms such as

Artemide __NOTOC__ Artemide () is a design-oriented Italian manufacturer founded by Ernesto Gismondi and Sergio Mazza in 1960. Based in Pregnana Milanese, a suburb of Milan, the company specialises in the manufacture of lighting designed by designers a ...

Brionvega Brionvega is an Italian electronics company that is known for manufacturing futuristic televisions and audio equipment. The company was founded in 1939 by Giuseppe Brion and Leone Pajettain in Milan. Initially named B.P.M. Radio, the company w ...

, ,

Gabbianelli Gabbianelli is an Italian ceramics company specializing in ceramic wall and floor tiles. It was founded in 1939 by Enrico Gabbianelli with its manufacturing plant in Cusano Milanino. During the 1960s and 70s it also produced a series of ceramic o ...

, Heller, Knoll, Salviati, and Zanotta.

Life and career

Asti was born in Milan. After receiving his degree in architecture at the

Polytechnic University of Milan The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 186 ...

, he opened his own design studio in 1956. That same year he became one of the founders of the

Associazione per il Disegno Industriale ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) is an association of about 1.100 designers, manufacturers, trade newspeople, schools and researchers on design based in Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the R ...

. While still a student he designed a

soda syphon The soda siphon (sometimes spelled syphon), also known as the seltzer bottle or siphon seltzer bottle, is a device for storing and dispensing carbonated beverages (typically carbonated water) while maintaining the internal pressure, thereby preven ...

for Saccab which became an icon of 1950s Italian design. It was nominated for a Compasso d'Oro in 1956, exhibited at the

Milan Triennial The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...

exhibition in 1957, and later at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

in New York. It is in the permanent collection of the

Triennale di Milano The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fina ...

museum. He went on to win the Compasso d'Oro in 1962 for his glass vase "Marco" manufactured by Salvati, examples of which are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

. Other designs by Asti include the "Dada" ceramic teapot held in the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin F ...

, "Boca" stainless steel flatware held in the

Rhode Island School of Design Museum The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD Museum) is an art museum integrated with the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence, Rhode Island, US. The museum was co-founded with the school in 1877, and still shares multiple build ...

and the

Cooper Hewitt Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

, and the "Daruma" lamp held in the Museum of Modern Art. Although primarily known for his industrial and interior designs, Asti also designed several buildings, including private houses in

Brienno Brienno (Comasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about northeast of Como. Brienno borders the following municipalities: Argegno, Carate Urio, Lagli ...

and

Arenzano Arenzano (local lij, Rensën) is a coastal town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, northern Italy, facing the Ligurian Sea. , it has a population of 11,445. This varies during the holiday seasons due to tourist flow. ...

, the latter with his frequent collaborator Sergio Favre (1927–1967).

Gallery

KARTELL lampada da soffitto KD, 1954.jpg, Pendant lamp for

Kartell Kartell is an Italian company that makes and sells plastic contemporary furniture. It is headquartered in Noviglio, Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy, and it is a subsidiary of Felofin. History The company began manufacturing automobile accessor ...

(1954) CASA T., ARENZANO, 1960.png, Villa Testa,

(1960) CASA G., BRIENNO, 1967.png, Villa in

(1967) BRIONVEGA Tv color Pally, 1973.jpg, "Pally" television for

(1973) Boca flatware by Sergio Asti.jpg, "Boca" stainless steel flatware (1976) SUPEREGO lampada da parete MS, 1982.jpg, Wall sconce for Superego (1982) TIZIANELLA, MILANO, 1961, alzato, sezione.png, Tizianella, Milan (1961)

References

External links

Asti, Sergio
on designindex.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asti, Sergio 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Italian architects Modernist architects Modernist designers Italian furniture designers Italian industrial designers Architects from Milan Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Academic staff of the Polytechnic University of Milan Compasso d'Oro Award recipients