Italian architecture and design magazine Domus is currently directed by Michele De Lucchi, but it was founded 90 years ago by Gio Ponti and Giovanni Semeria.
Ponti directed it until the early '40s and then again from 1948 to August 1979 (he died two months later); Alessandro Mendini followed him as editor of the magazine.
To coincide with Milan Design Week (17th – 22nd April), the Galleria Carla Sozzani is dedicating to the architect and designer a special exhibition.
"Domus 90. Gio Ponti" (opening tomorrow until 6th May) celebrates the 90th anniversary of the publication through 50 years of Ponti's work, archival materials such as magazine covers, photographs and a series of letters and notes to his friends that Ponti used to draw and illustrate by hand.
Born in Milan in 1891, Giovanni Ponti, graduated in architecture in 1921; he opened his own architectural studio, but soon started nurturing a strong interest for art and in particular painting and the power of craftsmanship.
Between 1923 and 1930 Ponti worked for the Manifattura Ceramica Richard Ginori creating for them revolutionary pieces in which he combined architectural features, lines and shapes with classical inspirations.
Presented at the Biennale of the Decorative Arts in Monza, Ponti's pieces for Ginori were often featured on international magazines and eventually won him in 1925 the Grand Prix at the Parisian Exposition des Arts Décoratifs.
When he began directing Domus, Ponti's key starting point was the house, conceived in the late '30s as a locus in transition towards the modern era.
According to him art, architecture and design had to work together in this environment to guarantee the people living inside it not just a comfortable living space, but a genuine inspiration.
When Ponti went back to directing Domus after the Second World War he shifted his attention on the changes society had gone through, but his vision still mirrored the interests he had in different disciplines.
One section of this compact exhibition is dedicated to the covers that characterised Domus between 1939 and 1940: they seem extremely colourful for those historically dark times; the covers for the May and June 1940 issues feature the colours of the Italian flag, but they are ominously employed to mark the Italian entry into the war.
After the conflict Ponti worked on industrial buildings and offices including the new headquarter for Pirelli designed in 1950 (and completed in 1961) with architects Antonio Fornaroli, Alberto Rosselli, Giuseppe Valtolina and Egidio Dell’Orto and engineers Arturo Danusso and Pier Luigi Nervi.
A decade later he designed the Concattedrale Gran Madre di Dio in Taranto one of his last large scale projects, characterised by diamond-shaped windows that seem to frame sections of the sky (these geometrical features were replicated by Ponti in his ceramic designs and pieces of furniture as well).
In the meantime Ponti kept on working on Domus: under his direction the magazine often published long features about the work of Italian designers exhibited at key events at Milan's Triennale, but the best thing about his tenure was that Ponti had an all-encompassing approach that meant he was equally interested in architecture and in the decorative arts.
Ceramic remained one of his favourite materials even though, after his work with Ginori, he applied his skills and passion for geometries not just to interior design pieces but to tiles as well.
At the same time he also produced designs linked with the fashion realm: among the displays at the exhibition fashion fans can discover Domus covers inspired by accessories such as gloves, but also his textile design called "the Mediterranean Law".
The fabric, showcased next to a rare design by Ponti, a Visetta sewing machine from 1949, embodied his thoughts about conceiving the Mediterranean area as a rich and modern inspiration for Italy (Ponti developed the Mediterranean theme from his passion for Bernard Rudofsky).
The exhibition is complemented by the work of photographer Giorgio Casali (1913-1995) who contributed for 30 years to Domus with his black and white or colour images showing architectural details, furniture and interior decor.
Given the limited gallery spaces and materials included, "Domus 90. Gio Ponti" should be conceived as a brief introduction to the work of the Italian architect and designer, but it could also be read as an intriguing visual summary of Italian graphic design between the '30s and '40s. Look at some of the early Domus covers on display and you will discover a sort of rough and simple beauty that is totally missing from the perfect, digital and airbrushed covers of modern architecture, fashion and design publications. Decades may have gone, but, through them, Ponti the polymath still seems to be reaching out to all the creative minds willing to listen to him.
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