Joe Colombo
Olivari Designers
Milan, 1930, 1971
A student at the Academy of Brera and Milan Polytechnic, he initially starts a career as an artist and architect and then decides to concentrate on industrial design. In less than ten years until his untimely death, Colombo designs a surprising quantity of objects, all marked by a Pop taste and an enthusiastic faith in progress
— Total Furnishing Unit, “Italy: The New Domestic Landscape”, MoMA, New York 1972
His projects, from Mini-Kitchen on wheels (Boffi, 1964) to his smoker’s glass Smoke (Arnolfo di Cambio, 1964) from the stackable plastic chair 4867 Universale (Kartell, 1965) to his lamp Spider (O-Luce, 1965), are found in major design collections, turning him into a true 1960s icon.
— Futuristic habitat “Visiona1”, Bayer, 1969
— Acrilica, lamp, O-Luce 1963
— Boby, storage trolley, Bieffeplast 1970