MENEGHETTI and DESIGN
He has researched and marketed hundreds of projects, from tables to other furniture, the most sophisticated pieces often make use of transparent materials, such as resins, Plexiglas and glass or polished surfaces made of metal. Alchemists’ tools have thus become cruets, sections of cylinders and cubes have been made into games and calendars. Industrial design is, perhaps, the only sector where Meneghetti has expressed some inclination towards enjoyment/entertainment. For example, he invented a lamp where each light can be moved, quite simply, to compose letters, numbers or other forms. He has been engaged in the design of sports’ equipment, for example ski boots (Garmont), a holdall with the profile of a woman (the fortunate life-size “Maîtresse”, which was produced in a myriad of variations) and even gaming tables, which can, in a few quick gestures, return to being a simple cube (in itself a fine sculpture, modelled on the minimalist Sol LeWitt) or, finally, a lavish writing desk, where vegetable resins run along perfect crystals emulating the reflections of gold.
Extract from “Le Altre Arti” by Marco Lampreda
He has designed important collections in a wide variety of sectors: the first jersey printed with ornaments, the first printed shirts, various collections of ceramic tiles, collections of jewellery, collections of ski boots collections of furniture, furnishing accessories, lamps and the MAITRESSE (furniture/sculpture) housed in the permanent collection at the MUSEUM OF MODERN ART IN MADRID etc.
Moreover he has created several collections for DDD Design, Appiani Ceramics, Gori e Zucchi Uno Aerre (fig.21), Balestra Oreficeria (fig.22) and several other lines of clothing including Gerard and Ates. For Garmont ski boots he designed the famous Demetz and Ghibli Gara. Illuminated bodies? Without doubt intriguing bodies. Looking for meaning: the objective of Meneghetti the sculptor/architect/designer.
Symbol-bodies, exceptional bodies as such, or the subjects of a well devised system, communicating bodies, or principally products of communication? Imagination in power or the power of the imagination? It is necessary to decipher the meaning. A working process capable of throwing light on salient and/or tacit features, values that have been added to a greater or lesser degree, different facets of meanings, rediscovered dexterity.
The artist becomes the communicator, the body the communication, sculpture is the communicating vehicle. The corpus of his design is elevated to the status of artwork. Introspection in the quest for the soul of the designer, object, factory and communication. Sounding the body before the object reaches the end user in a wilfully underhand form: desire. No longer a man-object relationship. But a soul-object-man relationship.
From the catalogue: “Abitare il tempo”, Verona Trade Fair 10-13/10/97
Meneghetti’s roots as a designer lie in his need for compositional clarity: the aesthetical quality of his lines is the result of his ability to envision in synthesis: therefore concepts of “beauty” or “ugliness” transcend pure aesthetics and are more a matter of “right” and “wrong”.
The designer-work relationship is direct in Meneghetti: his objects are seen as living objects, conceived within a hierarchy of lines and light through simple essential forms. We can say that two distinct stylistic moments coexist in this designer, which are, however, never in competition with each other: one is absolutely natural, spontaneous and almost epidermic, the other is carefully evaluated, elaborated and designed.
Meneghetti operates within precise methodologies, the result is an equilibrium of masses, harmonised and coherent forms even in the very details of his style, because the result is based on the certainty that relations between artist and audience are more real and up-to-date, connected to collective aesthetic problems. In a way that art can no longer be detached from life: “things that are beautiful to behold and things to be used that are ugly”.
Extract from: “IL MESSAGGERO” 2/6/75
2005
Expolab - Arezzo, Furniture Design Competition
“Made in Tuscany 2005 Third edition”: “Colonnato”, 2005. Arezzo
1998
“Italian Signe”. Carmi - Durazio - Meneghetti - Munari - Gio Ponti. Italian Academy.
New York. 16 - 31 May. Curated by F. Marangoni
1997
“From project to object, from object to project” curated by W. Vallini and Points of view edited by D. Palterer.
Abitare il tempo (Inhabiting time), cultural exhibitions, Verona. 10 – 13 October.
Malta International Art Biennale.13 – 30 October.
Painting award, Cinema award, Photography award, 3rd Architecture award,
Design award, special Decathlon Art career Award
Abitare il tempo, Verona. -Florence Art Biennale.
1977
Macef Milan
1976
Furniture show in Milan
Furniture show in Paris
1970
He founded la DDD design
1970
MENEGHETTI and DESIGN
