The Art of Living

2—3

The story of a family, a legacy and a passion for things beautiful

and for finely crafted furniture, a culture forged and nurtured

within the firm. This is how it has always been, for Molteni&C.

Since 1934, when it started out as a joinery workshop eager to

exhibit its furniture at the Monza Biennali, which later became

the Milan Triennali, and to make its debut in the world of art and

culture, attracting the attention of the critics and of an increas-

ingly international public. Those were the first rights of passage

that led a generation of joiners to become entrepreneurs, keen

to evolve from makers of customised items to manufacturers

of furniture produced on an industrial scale. This is how, in

1955, the first moderns – architects inspired by the Bauhaus

movement – converged from all over the world on Brianza, for

an international competition known as the Selettiva di Cantù.

They included Werner Blaser, Yasuhiko Itoh, Donato D’Urbino

and Carlo Volonterio. They were the forerunners, the founding

fathers, the first to venture into the brave new world of moder-

nity. Angelo Molteni, the founder of Molteni&C, one of the first

industrial concerns in the sector, chose them to design the first

prototypes, allowing them to win awards and make a name for

themselves. In the years in which Gio Ponti wrote in Domus

that “art has fallen in love with industry”, numerous voices from

Brianza suggested that industry, in turn, had fallen in love with

art. Art – the relationship with artists and architects – the magic

rising agent that produced new energies. And this was how, in

1961, when 13 visionary Italian businessmen promoted the first

Salone del Mobile di Milano, Angelo Molteni was among them.

No fewer than 328 exhibitors and 12 thousand visitors packed

the 13 thousand square metres of the Milan Tradeshow. Excel-

lent products, combining the skills of craftsmen and the exper-

tise of designers. The future lay in the virtuous convergence be-

tween the worlds of creativity and of mass production, and this

marked the beginning of decades of profitable business. Tech-

nology and research did the rest, moving towards novel forms

of industrial design, in which each element was qualified by

the “artisan-inspired finishes that allowed for unique pieces” of

furniture. Mass produced, yes, but of fine quality and designed

by great names such as Angelo Mangiarotti, Tito Agnoli, Luca

Meda, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, Aldo Rossi, just to mention the

pioneers, in a curriculum that placed Italy firmly on the map of

international design. And this was how hands, machines and

ideas combined to ensure the success of the Molteni brand,

soon to become an Industrial Group capable of producing an

up-market global range: Molteni&C, UniFor, Dada and Citterio,

from the home to kitchens and office furniture, in over eighty

countries, with over 700 points of sale, 40 of which mono-

brand outlets, representative of the Molteni philosophy, and ten

commercial branches present in all five continents. Today the

Molteni Group is one of just a few to guarantee the entire pro-

duction cycle “made in Italy”: from the choice of materials right

through to defining the product, thanks to production pro-

cesses certified according to the most stringent international

standards. The four companies have achieved great synergy in

terms of technologies and research, as well as innovative solu-

tions in line with the changes taking place in both the home

and in the workplace. This is how a museum is built, when

there is a rich history and an archive worth sharing, the Molteni

Museum, inaugurated in 2015 in the Company Compound de-

signed by Jasper Morrison to showcase 80 years of innovation

and research, and to contribute to spreading the culture of de-

sign. And this is how a Heritage Collection is created, when

there is a legacy to be handed down, to look into the future.

Unique pieces, designed for competitions and special projects,

to be brought back to life in series, in limited editions, signed

by Gio Ponti, Werner Blaser, Yasuhiko Itoh, Afra and Tobia Scar-

pa. Great designers and travelling companions of the Molteni

Group all over the world live side by side, under the creative

direction of Vincent Van Duysen, with today’s icons, including 6

Pritzker prizewinners – Jean Nouvel, Alvaro Siza, Foster + Part-

ners, Herzog & de Meuron, Renzo Piano, Pierluigi Cerri, Rodol-

fo Dordoni, Patricia Urquiola, Ron Gilad, just to mention a few.

This is how The Collector’s House was set up – a collection of

contemporary art, conceived by art curator and writer Caroline

Corbetta, in a dialogue with design, presented in 2018 at the

Milan Salone del Mobile and later in the main Flagship Stores,

such as New York and London. A partnership which, under the

auspices of the Molteni Museum, promotes the talent of young

artists also by starting up a collection. The aim is to create an

ecosystem in which design and art enhance each other and

restore fundamental links. An aesthetic and cultural harmony

in which imagination and design, style and personality thrive.

Avant-garde and tradition, under the banner of quality living.

New York Flagship Store Vincent Van Duysen 2018