Asta cutlery set, 24 pcs, stainless steel

Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019) was an Italian architect and designer whose work has had a great influence on modern Italian design. Mendini graduated as an architect from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1959, and in the 1970s he participated in the radical design movement and development of postmodern design theories. Besides architecture, product and interior design and installations, his work includes theoretical publications, and he has worked as publisher of Casabella, Modo and Domus magazines. Mendini was a founding member of the Global Tools design collective which was set up in 1973, and he was also a member of the "anti-design" group Studio Alchimia with designers such as Ettore Sottsass and Michele De Lucchi.

Mendini’s style is characterized by mixing different influences, cultures, forms and colours. Some of his best-known works include the Proust Armchair from 1978 and the Groninger Art Museum which was opened in the Netherlands in 2008. Mendini also taught at the Polytechnic University of Milan, ran the Atelier Mendini studio in Milan with his brother Francesco, and collaborated regularly with many internationally known brands such as Alessi. Mendini was awarded the prestigious Compasso d'Oro award three times during his career, and he held an honorary title from the Architectural League of New York.