Enzo Mari was an influential industrial designer and a beloved curmudgeon who revered Marxism. His vintage mid-century modern designs are simple, functional and poetic. Widely known Mari-designed objects include desk accessories, such as the Formosa perpetual wall calendar, vases, cocktail tables and chandeliers.
Enzo Mari's work is embedded within the city of Milan, the Italian capital of all things design. In fact, the traffic bollards he devised are part of the city itself: Shaped like "panettone" cakes, they simultaneously direct traffic and provide seating for pedestrians.
In 1974, Mari published Autoprogettazione? (roughly translated as self-design), a Marx-inspired, anti-industrial, do-it-yourself handbook for the everyday person to use to build furniture without the assistance of a glitzy designer or knowledge of complex joinery. Mari’s intent with the publication was to remove the alienation of the creator and manufacturer from the end product by teaching anyone to develop a critical eye for production.
Artek relaunched kits based on the blueprints in the manual in an exhibition at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in 2010. The subsequent collectability of his work was reportedly irksome for Mari because he abhorred the industrial production for which he was becoming known.
Mari’s meager upbringing heavily influenced his politics, and even in childhood, he would come up with ingenious ways to support the family financially. As a designer, the desire to envision and build significant pieces was more important to Mari than devising new marketing and retail sales tactics. He optimistically believed objects could change the world. This view went against the rising consumer mania for every next trend that surfaced in the late 20th century. Not surprisingly, his ecological and economical stance led him to produce fewer objects.
Mari's philosophy did not stop people from desiring his creations, nor prevent other designers from wanting to collaborate with him. Following World War II, he worked for companies like Danese, Olivetti, Artemide, Driade and Alessi, who brought his prodigious designs to the public, and Mari’s work was widely celebrated.
The Golden Compass, Italy's highest honor for industrial design, was awarded to Mari four times before he died from COVID in 2020, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art has a permanent collection of his objects on display.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Enzo Mari decorative objects, folk art and serveware.
Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in blue for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Skokie, IL
Enzo Mari NOS model "Box chair" in blue manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade), Italy, 1995 The Enzo Mari NOS model "The Box" chair, manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade) in It...
Steel
Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in orange for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995
By Driade, Enzo Mari
Located in Skokie, IL
Enzo Mari NOS model "Box chair" in orange manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade), Italy, 1995 The Enzo Mari NOS model "The Box" chair, manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade) in ...
Steel
Enzo Mari, Side Chair, Plywood, Beech, Italy, 1980s
By Enzo Mari
Located in High Point, NC
A plywood and beech side chair or dining room chairs designed by Enzo Mari and produced by Driade, Italy, c. 1980. Scratching present to wood consistent with age and use Wear consi...
Wood, Beech, Plywood
Studio Made Sedia Chair by Enzo Mari
By Enzo Mari
Located in Chicago, IL
c. 1970s. This is a studio made self-assembly chair originally published in Enzo Mari’s 1974 project called Autoprogettazione.
Wood
"chair 1" self-design , design Enzo Mari for Artek 2008 - original !
By Artek, Enzo Mari
Located in taranto, IT
"Chair 1" - Enzo Mari's Self-Design Project Are you looking for a piece that is not just a piece of furniture, but a manifesto of Italian design? I am putting up for sale this beau...
Wood
$7,459Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Indoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is a three-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel finished in black-brown epoxy paint, cushions in polyurethane foam...
Steel
Chair 1 by Enzo Mari for Artek
By Artek, Enzo Mari
Located in Busnago, IT
Chair mod. Chair 1 by Enzo Mari for Artek (Finland), 2002. Created by Mari in 1974, Chair 1 is a manifesto of his approach to furniture design, focusing on self-production and do-it-...
Wood
Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974 Enzo Mari (born April 27, 1932, in Novara, Italy–died October 19, 2020) was a noted Italian post-Modernist ...
Fabric, Wood
Enzo Mari, Dining Room Chairs, Plywood, Beech, Italy, 1980s
By Enzo Mari
Located in High Point, NC
A set of six plywood and beech dining room chairs designed by Enzo Mari and produced by Driade, Italy, c. 1980. Scratching present to wood consistent with age and use Wear consiste...
Wood, Beech, Plywood
Enzo Mari for Driade Mid Century Italian Steel Dining Chairs - Set of 6
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Enzo Mari for Driade Mid Century Italian Steel Dining Chairs - Set of 6 Each chair measures: 18 wide x 21 deep x 34.5 inches high, with a s...
Steel
$4,226Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Outdoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is an outdoor armchair, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black-brown ...
Steel
"Day-Night" Daybed by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1970s
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Milan, IT
Rare "Day-Night" sofa bed by Enzo Mari for Driade. Brown lacquered steel frame hosts a revolving backrest and a single bed covered mattress. First "convertible" piece of furniture d...
Steel
$4,464Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Indoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is an armchair, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel finished in black-brown epoxy paint, cushions in polyurethane foam of va...
Steel
$1,432Sale Price / item|20% Off
Enzo Mari Driade Sof Sof Chair in Graphite Gray, 1972
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Made by Driade in 1972, Sof Sof reflects the essential elegance of the design by Enzo Mari. Structure made of steel rod finished in graphite gray color epoxy p...
Steel
$7,423Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Outdoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is an outdoor three-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black...
Steel
$5,976Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Outdoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Enzo Mari, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is an outdoor two-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black-b...
Steel
$4,300 / set
Box Chairs by Enzo Mari for Anonima Castelli
By Anonima Castelli, Enzo Mari
Located in Chicago, IL
c. 1970s. Italy. Price is for the set. Contact us if you’d like to purchase a single item. Breaks down into a box for easy shipping and transport. Made in Italy. Rare vintage chair.
Metal
'Sedia 1' Chairs by Enzo Mari for Artek, Finland, 2010
By Enzo Mari, Artek
Located in Antwerp, BE
A beautiful and rarely available pair of Enzo Mari 'Sedia 1' chairs, originally designed in 1974 and briefly reissued by Artek in 2010. As part of Mari’s visionary ‘Autoprogettazione...
Pine
Italian Modern Chromed Metal and Cotton Sof Sof Chairs, Enzo Mari, Driade, 1980
By Enzo Mari
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern chromed metal and checked cotton set of three Sof Sof chairs by Enzo Mari for Driade, 1980s Fantastic set of three Sof Sof model chairs in chrom...
Metal
Marco Zanuso for Zanotta Set of 6 Chairs Mod. Celestina, Italy 1990s
By Enzo Mari, Zanotta
Located in Naples, IT
In the late 1970s Zanotta embarked on a new avenue of research aimed at identifying and recovering objects from the past of anonymous origin, "already seen," but to be revisited and...
Steel
$5,738Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Elisa" Indoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Driade, Enzo Mari
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Elisa" is a two-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel finished in black-brown epoxy paint, cushions in polyurethane foam o...
Steel
$867Sale Price / item|20% Off
Set of 4 Mariolina Chair by Enzo Mari for MAGIS
By Magis, Enzo Mari
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Mariolina recalls the fifties-style, but features a series of extra details. The legs in powder coated or chromed steel tube are in fact slimmer and more precise in section. The poly...
Steel
Rexite Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Red)
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Alcamo, IT
Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Red) Designed by Enzo Mari in 1974 and awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, the Delfina chair remains a symbol of minimalist ...
Steel
Italian black plastic aluminum chairs 2090 Tonietta Enzo Mari Zanotta 1980s
By Enzo Mari, Zanotta
Located in MIlano, IT
Italian modern black plastic and aluminum chairs 2090 Tonietta by Enzo Mari for Zanotta, 1980s Set of six chairs model Tonietta, also known as 2090, with a half-moon backrest and a r...
Metal, Aluminum
$1,252Sale Price / item|20% Off
"Sof Sof" Outdoor Fabric Steel Rod Chair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Driade, Enzo Mari
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Sof Sof" is an iconic chair, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel rod with protective cataphoresis treatment ...
Steel
“Carmen” dining chair, Enzo Mari for Zanotta. Italy 1980s.
By Zanotta, Enzo Mari
Located in Barcelona, ES
“Carmen” dining chair, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Zanotta. Crafted with a robust black lacquered frame, providing durability and style. The ergonomically designed seat...
Metal
Set of 6 white Box chairs Enzo Mari 1976 plastic and metal
By Enzo Mari
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Designed by Enzo Mari in 1976, the Box chair is one of the most consistent examples of his research into essential forms, accessibility, and conscious industrial production. The mode...
Metal
Rexite Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Senapé)
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Alcamo, IT
Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Senapé) Designed by Enzo Mari in 1974 and awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, the Delfina chair remains a symbol of minimali...
Steel
$4,333 / set
Set of 4 Vela chairs by Enzo Mari for Driade
By Driade, Enzo Mari
Located in Ravenna, IT
Set of 4 chairs designed by Enzo Mari for Driade in 1980. The distinctive element of the chair is definitely the curved sheet of plywood that rests on the chair frame, becoming first...
Plywood, Wood, Beech
Rexite Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Ivory)
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Alcamo, IT
Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Ivory) Designed by Enzo Mari in 1974 and awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, the Delfina chair remains a symbol of minimalis...
Steel
Rexite Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Black)
By Enzo Mari, Rexite
Located in Alcamo, IT
Delfina – Stackable Chair by Enzo Mari (Kvadrat Field 2, Black) Designed by Enzo Mari in 1974 and awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 1979, the Delfina chair remains a symbol of minimalis...
Steel