Gabriella Crespi (17 February 1922 – 14 February 2017) was an Italian artist-designer whose work spanned furniture design,

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. Transforming objects by adding changes in their function, Crespi developed her style with a repertoire of more than two thousand pieces. Her work methods recall those of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

workshops, bringing craftsmanship and artistic approach together. Her design pieces have been appreciated and owned by public figures as King Faisal, the Shah

Reza Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi may refer to: * Reza Shah (1878–1944), Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran from 1925 until 1941 * Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), Shah of Iran from 1941 to 1979, son of Reza Shah * Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pah ...

, Grace Kelly,

George Livanos George P. Livanos (9 August 1926 – 1 June 1997) was a Greek shipping magnate born in New Orleans, the son of Peter Livanos from Chios.Νικόλαος Καραμανλής, Άτλας της Ελληνικής Διασποράς, 2001, σελ. ...

, Thomas Hoving,

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, t ...

Gunter Sachs Fritz Gunter Sachs (14 November 1932 – 7 May 2011, also Gunter Sachs von Opel) was a German photographer, author, Rosenberg student, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology. As a young man he bec ...

and celebrated by design enthusiasts and magazines.

Career

At the end of the 1950s, Gabriella Crespi commenced her activity as a designer and presented her first collections in Milan. Mrs. Hoving, owner of Tiffany & Co. and Bonwit Teller at that time, owned her first works and, from the early 1960s, her objects were commissioned by

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

for the gifts department, home decor and dining: the ties between Crespi and

will last for almost twenty years. Between the 1970s and the 1980s, Gabriella Crespi gained an elite place among the 20th century furniture designers with her "Plurimi" series (1970-1982), the "Z Line" (1972-1974) and other pieces, such as "Obelisk" (1968-1970), "Moons" (1969-1980) and "Kaleidoscope" (1970-1976). Crespi retired in 1987 and, at the age of 65, she ventured into the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

where she lived for two decades. She published a book in 2007, ''"Ricerca di Infinito Himalaya"'', after the retreat. In 2011 a retrospective exhibition of her work, ''Gabriella Crespi: The Sign and the Spirit'', was held in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Palazzo Reale This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. In 2015 Crespi presents in the Rita Fancsaly Gallery "New Bronze Age," a series of new limited editions of her most iconic works: "Ellisse table", "Dama table", "Yang Yin", "Z Desk", including a new version of her "Puzzle Table", in just two versions: red and blu, whose countertop is made of

Murano Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 (2004 figures). It is famous for its glass making. It was on ...

glass tiles, unique pieces conceived and designed by the architect Franco Deboni, internationally renowned for his glass creations. In 2016 Gabriella Crespi realized her last work “Wave Desk”, single piece. In 2019, Crespi's daughter Elisabetta Crespi, put the Fungo lamp from The Rising Sun Collection back into production with the original craftspeople. The original mushroom-like Fungo lamps were made with bamboo shades, and then later Plexiglas shades. A number of reissued pieces were featured in an installation at Dimore Gallery during

Milan Design Week The Milan Furniture Fair ( it, Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano) is a furniture fair held annually in Milan. It is the largest trade fair of its kind in the world. The exhibition showcases the latest in furniture and design from countrie ...

in 2019 including brass Tavolo Scultura tables, Fungo lamps in plexiglass, Cubo Tondo tables, an Eclipse table, and a Scudo sconce. The installation featured pink and tan sand around the furniture.

Bibliography

*Triennale Design Museum. Il Design Italiano. Milano: Electa, 2018. *Masini, Pierluigi (2018). Gabriella Crespi Spirito e Materia, Arte e Design. Milano: Odoya, 2018. *Triennale Design Museum 9. W.Women in Italian Design. Mantova: Corraini Edizioni, 2016. *Favardin, Patrick et Bloch-Champfort, Guy. Les Décorateurs des années 60-70. Paris: Norma Editions, 2015. *1968 Italian Radical Design. Athens: Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, 2014. *Bony, Anne. Gabriella Crespi. Paris: Piasa Editions, 2014 *Stoeltie, Barbara & René. Parisian Interiors. Paris: Editions Flammarion, 2011. *Cunaccia,Cesare. Gabriella Crespi The Sign and the Spirit. Milano: Mondadori Electa, 2011. *Derieux Matos, Debra. Living in Style Paris. Paris: teNeues Publishing Group, 2010. *Crespi, Gabriella. Ricerca di Infinito Himalaya. Cisternino, Herakhandi Samaj Italiano, 2007. *Bony, Anne. Meubles et décors des années 70. Paris: Editions du Regard, 2005.

References

External links

Archivio Gabriella Crespi

Harpersbazaararabia.com Remembering Gariella Crespi, Age of Elegance

* ttp://www.vogue.com/article/gabriella-crespi-daughter-remembrance/ vogue.com Remembering Gabriella Crespi
wsj.com Italian Designer Gabriella Crespi Returns

architecturaldigest.com Gabriella Crespi Designs are up for Auction in Paris

Vogue.it Ricordando Gabriella Crespi

Back from the Roots

agentofstyle.com Gabriella Crespi Timeless by Piasa

lampoon.it Gabriella Crespi

admagazine.fr Gabriella Crespi le baroque et l'épure

vogue.it Gabriella Crespi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crespi, Gabriella Italian industrial designers Italian interior designers 1922 births 2017 deaths