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Gabriella Crespi

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Gabriella Crespi
Born17 February 1922
Saronno, Italy
Died14 February 2017 (aged 94)
Milan, Italy
NationalityItalian
EducationAccademia di Belle Arti, Milan
Polytechnic University, Milan
Known forsculpture, furniture design, jewelry design
Notable workObelisk (1968-1970)

Lune (1969-1980)
Kaleidoscope (1970-1976)
The Plurimi series (1970-1982)
Animali (1970-1974)
Fungo Lamp (1970-1976)
Z Line (1972-1974)
The Rising Sun Collection (1973-1975)
Nympheas (1975-1979)

New Bronze Age (2015-2017)
SpouseGiuseppe Maria Crespi (m.1948-1974)
ChildrenGherardo Crespi
Elisabetta Crespi

Gabriella Crespi (born Gabriella Pellini, 17 February 1922 – 14 February 2017) was an Italian artist-designer whose work spanned furniture design, jewelry and sculpture. She studied architecture at Milan Polytechnic and started her career as a designer in the 1950’s.

Her work methods recall those of Renaissance workshops, in which high craftsmanship and artistic flair come together.[1] Thanks to her ability to transform objects by adding changes in function, Crespi developed her own unique style during a creative period lasted less than 30 years with a repertoire of more than two thousand pieces.[2][3][4][5][6]

In 1987 Crespi withdrew from her activity, pursuing a desire to follow her own path in the search for spirituality. With a backpack and a sleeping bag, at the age of 65, she ventured into the Himalayas where she lived almost without break for two decades.[7][8][9]

She died on February 2017 in her Milanese home, just 3 days before her 95th birthday.

Early life

Gabriella Crespi was born Gabriella Pellini in the town of Saronno, Italy, in 1922. Soon after her birth, her parents moved to Milan and during her childhood she spent long periods near Florence, in the Tuscan countryside, where she started to develop a love for nature. Her father Gabriele Pellini was a mechanical engineer, her mother Emma Caimi Pellini, a creator of jewelry for Parisian haute couture.[10]

She graduated from Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan and from 1943 she studied Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan.

Starting from 1945, at the end of the Second World War she spent several periods of time in isolation in the Hebrides, off the coast of Scotland, where she was able to satisfy her need for silence and devote herself to her search for the infinite. The first step of a spiritual journey that would take up the whole of her existence.[11][12][13]

On 25 September 1948 she married Giuseppe Maria Crespi, a member of the well-known Lombard family of textiles entrepreneurs and co-owners of the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Two children were born to the couple, Gherardo and Elisabetta.

Career

At the end of the 1950s, Gabriella Crespi commenced her activity as a designer and presented her first collections in Milan. She quickly became successful in the United States, thanks to Mrs.Hoving, owner, at the time, of Tiffany and Bonwit Teller, who bought her first works. From the early 1960s her objects were commissioned by the Maison Dior for the gifts department, home decor and dining. The ties between Crespi and Dior will last for almost twenty years.[14][15][16]

Between the 1970s and the 1980s, with the "Plurimi" series (1970-1982), the "Z line" (1972-1974) and other pieces, such as "Obelisk" (1968-1970), "Moons" (1969-1980), "Kaleidoscope" (1970-1976), the "Fungo" lamps (1970-1976), the sculptural tables created between 1975 and 1979, Gabriella Crespi has earned herself an elite place in the history of the 20th century furniture design.[17] In those years her work was a hit with the public worldwide, and her pieces were featured in homes belonging to the likes of King Faisal, the Shah Reza Pahlavi, Grace Kelly,[18] the Greek shipbuilding magnate George Livanos, Thomas Hoving, Audrey Hepburn and Gunter Sachs.[19][20][21]

Works

The Plurimi series (1970-1982)

Designed between 1970 and 1982, plays a central role in the poetic of Gabriella Crespi. A collection of pieces of furniture with an extremely dynamic and metamorphic sculptural form. New forms in which the extreme geometric rigour is underlined by a constant desire for movement. Wings that suddenly take flight from futuristic morphologies, archetypal and sacred forms, that turn into fantastic spaceship heading for the infinite, majestic and yet hard to grasp.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

The series, that derived its name as a tribute to Italian painter Emilio Vedova,[28] started in 1970 with "Tavolo 2000," with its long pull-out wings that allow it to be extended from 120 centimetres up to three meters. The very first inspiration came from the desire to create an airy decomposition from the pure, simple and compact, almost sculptural geometry. Tavolo 2000 was followed the same year by the "Magic Cube," "Tavolo Dama" and "Tavolo Scultura."

Lost Wax Sculptures and Jewelry (1970-1974)

Between 1970 and 1974 Crespi created her most significant sculptures, including "My Soul" and the "Animali" collection. Her marked and incessant loving attention paid to the natural world all the way through her prolific career constituted a fundamental motif over the years.[29] All the sculptures that make up Crespi’s bestiary are primarily lost wax castings made of bronze, that often incorporate an egg of Murano glass especially made by the renowned Barovier&Toso glassworks.[30] Craftsmen became goldsmiths when Crespi commissioned them pieces like "Gocce Oro" and the Jewels collection, free flowing castings obtained through the ancient lost-wax technique.[31][32]

Unicum (1968 - 1980)

Parts of Crespi's collection took a unique path, reflected in the name Unicum.[33] With Kaleidoscope (1970), Crespi proposed to explore the diffraction of light through a prismatic volume and graphic textures of subtle light effects.[34] Crespi, passionate about the geometry of the form, would deliver another daring graphic interpretation by developing her "Z line" between 1972 and 1974: "Z Bar" (1972) made from a single sheet of stainless steel, was created in collaboration with her daughter Elisabetta. "Z Desk" (1974) was realized in different versions and takes its name from the two sides structures that are shaped like the last letter of the alphabet.[35][36]

A Crespi’s tribute to the spiritual world is the Ara table, created in 1979 along with the Nympheas table. Made of solid cedar wood from Lebanon, both of them are charged with symbolic meaning and reflect Crespi’s constant search for inner spirituality.[37]

Later life

After the long retreat in the Himalayas, Crespi returned to Italy in 2005. Her book Ricerca di Infinito Himalaya, published in the fall of 2007, explains the different stages of her spiritual journey.[38][39]

In 2011 a retrospective exhibition of her work, Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, was held in Milan at Palazzo Reale. [40][41][42]

In 2015 Crespi launched "New Bronze Age," a series of new limited editions of her most iconic works, new bronze tables from the Plurimi series and the Z line. The series includes a ‘four hands’ work, a new version of her renowned "Puzzle Table" whose countertop is made of Murano glass tiles, unique pieces conceived and designed by the architect Franco Deboni, internationally renowned for his glass creations.[43][44][45]

Bibliography

  • Storie. Il Design Italiano / Milan Triennale , 2018
  • Gabriella Crespi. Spirito e Materia Arte e Design - Pierluigi Masini - Edizioni Odoya, 2018
  • W.Women in Italian Design / Triennale Design Museum 9 -2016
  • Les Décorateurs des années 60 / 70 - Patrick Favardin et Guy Bloch-Champfort - Norma Editions, 2015
  • Gabriella Crespi - Anne Bony - Piasa Editions, 2014
  • 1968 Italian Radical Design - Deste Foundation / Toiletpaper, 2014
  • Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit - Electa, 2011
  • Parisian Interiors - Barbara & RenéStoeltie - Editions Flammarion, 2011
  • The Whispered / Fendi - Electa, 2011
  • Living in Style Paris - Debra Derieux Matos - teNeues Publishing Group, 2010
  • 30 Anni di Galleria Colombari, 2010
  • Les Décorateurs des années 60 / 70 - Patrick Favardin et Guy Bloch-Champfort - Norma Editions, 2007
  • Ricerca di infinito Himalaya - Gabriella Crespi - Herakhandi Samaj Italiano, 2007
  • Meubles et décors des années 70 - Anne Bony - Editions du Regard, 2005
  • Short Cuts - Nazanin Yashar, 2006
  • Metropolis - Nazanin Yashar, 2005
  • Crossings / year two - 360° Edizioni-Milano, 2000
  • Le Vetrine di Milano - Edizioni L’Agrifoglio, 1982

References

  1. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). The Sign and the Spirit, p.42. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  2. ^ "Gabriella Crespi - Website". Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ^ "A Recluse Return - WSJ" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Gabriella Crespi - Le baroque et l'èpure" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  5. ^ Bony, Anne (2014). Gabriella Crespi, p.119. Piasa Editions, Paris
  6. ^ "Ode to Gabriella Crespi" (PDF). Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. ^ Crespi, Gabriella (2007). Ricerca di Infinito Himalaya. Edizioni Herakhandi Samaj italiano
  8. ^ Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design. Odoya, Milano. ISBN 9788862884327
  9. ^ Cunaccia,Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.39,141. Mondadori Electa, Milano.ISBN 9788837086183
  10. ^ Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design, p.33. Odoya, Milano. ISBN 9788862884327
  11. ^ Crespi, Gabriella (2007). Ricerca di Infinito Himalaya. Edizioni Herakhandi Samaj italiano
  12. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, p.141. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  13. ^ Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design, pp.43-48. Odoya, Milano. ISBN 9788862884327
  14. ^ "Gabriella Crespi - Abitare le emozioni". Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  15. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, p.141. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  16. ^ Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design, pp.55,57. Odoya, Milano. ISBN 9788862884327
  17. ^ Martignoni, Massimo (2011). "Material Molded by Thought", Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.33,36. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  18. ^ "Gabriella Crespi - Vogue.it". Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Brillante Interiors: Timeless Gabriella Crespi". 17 February 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  20. ^ "Jason Mowen". 17 February 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  21. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.42-44. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  22. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). "Gabriella Crespi or about Metamorphosis", Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.39-47. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  23. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.60-83. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  24. ^ "Il Segno e lo Spirito" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  25. ^ "Age of Elegance". Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  26. ^ Bony, Anne (2014). Gabriella Crespi, pp.102-107. Piasa Editions, Paris
  27. ^ Favardin, Patrick et Bloch-Champfort, Guy (2007). Les Décorateurs des années 60-70, pp.140, 141, 144-146, 148, 149. Norma Editions, Paris. ISBN 9782915542066
  28. ^ "Remembering Gabriella Crespi: Age Of Elegance". Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  29. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, p.97. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  30. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.96-109. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  31. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.116-127. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  32. ^ Bony, Anne (2014). Gabriella Crespi,pp.109-111. Piasa Editions, Paris
  33. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.84-95. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  34. ^ Bony, Anne (2014). Gabriella Crespi,pp.106-108. Piasa Editions, Paris
  35. ^ "Ode to Gabriella Crespi" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  36. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.85, 86. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  37. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.85, 86. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  38. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit, pp.134-139. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  39. ^ Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design, pp.152-198. Odoya, Milano. ISBN 9788862884327
  40. ^ "Gabriella Crespi: il segno e lo spirito". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  41. ^ "Crespi Palazzo Reale Milano". Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  42. ^ Cunaccia, Cesare (2011). Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit. Mondadori Electa, Milano. ISBN 9788837086183
  43. ^ "Incredible Crespi". Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  44. ^ "Tutte le sfumature di bronzo". Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  45. ^ "A Recluse Return - WSJ" (PDF). Retrieved 16 July 2018.
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