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 Sideboard for Poltronova, Marble & Wood, Italy, 1980
By Enzo Mari
Located in Brussels, BE
Sideboard by Enzo Mari for Poltronova, 1980s
Marble
Enzo Mari Dima Modular Wall Shelving System
By Enzo Mari, Simon Furniture
Located in Chicago, IL
Enzo Mari Dima modular wall shelving system for Simon International Dima Italy, circa 1970 Enameled steel, shelves adjustable with solid plastic holders...
Metal
$4,727Sale Price|30% Off
Modular Bookcase Sideboard by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italian Design
By Driade, Enzo Mari, Antonia Astori
Located in Milano, IT
Modular sideboard bookcase "Bric" by Enzo Mari for Driade in wood, a work of Italian design that combines elegance and functionality. Iconic piece perfect for modern and sophisticate...
Wood
Rexite Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase design Enzo Mari - Black - 5 Shelves
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Model: Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase Design: Enzo Mari Free-Standing Bookcase Venezia is a column-style shelving system with softened lines, featuring rounded and shaped edges t...
Steel
Rexite Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase design Enzo Mari - White - 5 Shelves
By Rexite, Enzo Mari
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Model: Venezia – Free-Standing Bookcase Design: Enzo Mari Free-Standing Bookcase Venezia is a column-style shelving system with softened lines, featuring rounded and shaped edges t...
Steel
Stackable Wine Rack Rexite Cantina Design Enzo Mari
By Enzo Mari, Rexite
Located in Varedo, Lombardia
Cantina – Stackable Wine Rack Design: Enzo Mari Stackable Wine Rack for 12 Bottles Elegant and functional, the Cantina wine rack features a chrome...
Steel
$12,565
H 118.12 in W 35.44 in D 15.75 in
Midcentury LB7 modular bookcase designed by Franco Albini for Poggi, Italy 1957
By Poggi, Franco Albini
Located in Piacenza, Italy
Modular bookcase model LB7 designed by Franco Albini for Poggi. Marked Poggi Pavia. An extremely flexible bookcase, with different modular options, suited to being against a wall or...
Wood
$7,450
H 33.27 in W 78.55 in D 21.07 in
Giovanni Michelucci for Poltronova 'Torbecchia' Sideboard in Walnut
By Poltronova, Michele de Lucchi
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Giovanni Michelucci for Poltronova, 'Torbecchia' sideboard, walnut, Italy, 1964 This exquisite Torbecchia sideboard, created by the artist Giovanni Michelucci (1891-1990), is a true...
Walnut
Opinion Ciatti Portariviste Magazine Rack
By Opinion Ciatti
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Portariviste, an object that identifies exactly its function and there is no need for a different name to define it. Portariviste is so similar in the concept but so distant in the e...
Steel
$1,713
H 70.87 in W 31.5 in D 15.75 in
Teak Veneer Bookcase, Shelving System by Skaraborgs Möbelindustri, 1950s
By Skaraborgs Möbelindustri Tibro, Bertil Fridhagen
Located in Bochum, NRW
A refined example of Swedish mid‑century functionalism, this “Reform” shelving system by Skaraborgs Möbelindustri (Tibro) brings together clean architectural lines, warm materials, a...
Wood
Antique Oak Six Tier Stacking Oak Barrister Bookcase
By Globe Wernicke
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A well made and functional storage option in this six stacking oak barrister bookcase with Copper pulls and an interesting Arts and Crafts decorative pattern on the Copper strapping...
Copper
$6,588 / item
H 79.1 in W 62.9 in D 13.3 in
"ZigZag" Bronze Painted Steel and Oak Veneered High Bookcase by K. Grcic, Driade
By Konstantin Grcic, Driade
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"ZigZag" is a high bookcase, designed by Konstantin Grcic and manufactured by Driade, featuring structure in bronze painted steel and oak veneered shelves. Bookends in sheet metal st...
Steel
$8,156Sale Price|40% Off
H 30.32 in W 95.28 in D 18.51 in
Franco Albini Italian Midcentury Dark Wood Sideboard for Poggi, 1950s
By Poggi, Franco Albini
Located in Reggio Emilia, IT
Italian Mid-Century Modern design credenza sideboard designed by Franco Albini and produced by Poggi Pavia from 1958, four doors with sliding shelves and a pull-out shelf / tray, sol...
Wood
$1,320Sale Price|20% Off
H 57.5 in W 34 in D 13.5 in
Gunn Arts & Crafts 4-Stack Oak Barrister Stack Bookcase C1910
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Gunn Arts And Crafts 4 Stack Oak Barrister Bookcase C1910 Measures - 57.5"h x 34"w x 13.5"d
Oak
$3,507Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 63.78 in W 33.86 in D 11.42 in
1920s Antique Globe Wernicke Stacking Barrister's Bookcase, USA
By Globe Wernicke
Located in Reading, Berkshire
An attractive American Globe-Wernicke stacking barrister’s bookcase dating from the 1920s, constructed in richly toned wood and arranged as four glazed stacking sections above a rais...
Brass
$575
H 14 in W 30.75 in D 18 in
George Nelson - Omni System - Shelving or Wall Unit Walnut Cabinet Only - Parts
By George Nelson
Located in St. Louis, MO
Mid-Century Modern 1960s George Nelson designed for Omni Systems, this is part for a wall unit, Two Drawer File Cabinet in oiled walnut, no hardware. I nee...
Walnut
$13,136
H 30.32 in W 102.37 in D 19.3 in
Italian Oak Wood Sideboard with Hand Carved Patterns and Travertine Marble Top
Located in Ibiza, Spain
This hand-carved oak wood sideboard features five folding doors and an interior central shelf, crafted to blend elegance with functionality. The top is made of robust 3 cm thick trav...
Travertine, Marble
$675
H 24 in W 30.75 in D 15 in
George Nelson - Omni System - Shelving or Wall Unit Walnut Cabinet Only - Parts
By George Nelson
Located in St. Louis, MO
Mid-Century Modern 1960s George Nelson designed for Omni Systems, this is part for a wall unit, a four drawer cabinet in walnut, no hardware. Part # 631532...
Walnut
Antique Globe Wernicke 3 Stack Lawyer's Bookcase c.1910-1930
By Globe Wernicke
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT A Globe-Wernicke lawyer's bookcase from circa 1910-1930 exemplifies early 20th-century office furniture design. The modular construction features five interlocking pieces—top,...
Bakelite, Cherry, Maple
Italian Franco Albini for Poggi Sideboard
By Franco Albini, Poggi
Located in Hudson, NY
An Italian model MB 51 sideboard designed by Franco Albini for Poggi. Made of solid teak with a minimalist design and sharp lines.
Teak
$26,400
H 115.95 in W 128.35 in D 18.12 in
Free-Standing Double-Sided Bookcase and Room Divider in Oak by Giuseppe Rivadossi
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Giuseppe Rivadossi for Officina Rivadossi, bookcase, oak, glass, Italy, 1970s This bookcase by Giuseppe Rivadossi is conceived as a freestanding architectural element rather than si...
Glass, Oak
