Alessi Nut cracker Silver/Metal Metal. Dimensions: L 5 x W 2.5 x H 11 cm.
Notice to collectors, design fans and everyone who’d like to rediscover the
essential figures of Italian design! The iconic Italian brand Alessi is
celebrating its 100th anniversary with the “Alessi 100 Values Collection”:
this collection celebrates the values that define the identity and practice of
the Dream Factory (Fabbrica dei Sogni). A collection of surprising objects,
from the Alessi Museum's Archive Fund, which includes projects that have never
been produced before, brand-new versions of cult objects as well as icons in the
making. Twelve projects, each referring to a different value, will be presented
over twelve months, from May 2021 to April 2022. „Alessi 100 Values
Collection“ celebrates 100 years of applied arts research and the start of a
new century of experimentation. The tenth value placed in the spotlight by
Alessi is Thingness. The deep essence of the object is precisely what Enzo Mari
reveals to us with his Farfalla nutcracker. Alberto Alessi explains:
“Thingness or the ability to touch the very essence of an object, its very
raison d'être, is a prerogative common to all the best design projects. You
could say that an object achieves its „thingness“ when it comes to represent
and synthesise the gesture or activity for which it was designed and created. To
put it another way, it then acquires a symbolic value and becomes an archetype
of its category. A principle that’s oh so difficult to grasp! One of the
designers who has been most attentive to this quest for „thingness“ is Enzo
Mari: nothing superfluous or purely decorative in his creations, each of which
follows a precise, almost Calvinist logic, to achieve the very essence of the
typology subjected to the designer's examination. Such is the case with this
gesture, borrowed from a mechanical workshop, which involves turning a wing
screw and tightening it until the nut is squeezed tight.'' An archetypal object
with an essential design, the Farfalla nutcracker (“butterfly” in Italian)
is a fine example of rigorously hunting for the slightest superfluous element,
an approach that has always accompanied Enzo Mari's meta-project research.
Here, then, is an object simply defined by a few precise lines, which alone
condense the reasons for its existence. Designed in the late 1990s but never
brought into production, this 2021 edition pays homage to one of the masters of
Italian design. An iconoclastic artist, designer and intellectual, Enzo Mari was
one of the most influential figures in Italian design during the second half of
the 20th century. Five-time winner of the Compasso d'Oro prize, he has been
named „the critical conscience of design“. This object is dedicated to all
design enthusiasts and those who wish to rediscover the critical approach to
design borne by Enzo Mari through a unique project. Enzo Mari: „Design is all
about decanting, removing anything that is unnecessary or false.“
