Kazuko Sato; Alessandro Mendini - Studio Alchimia - 1988

STUDIO ALCHIMIA
Contemporary Italian Design
Edited by Kazuko Sato

This volume, curated by the Japanese design journalist and critic Kazuko Sato and published in 1988 by Taco, is one of the most important historical monographs dedicated to Studio Alchimia.

Founded in Milan in 1976 by Alessandro and Adriana Guerriero, Studio Alchimia was the hub of Radical Design and Italian Postmodernism. The group redefined the concept of furniture, rejecting the rigid functionalism of Bauhaus in favor of ironic, decorative, and emotionally charged design.

Kazuko Sato’s work documents, in an extensive and bilingual manner (German/English or Japanese/English depending on the edition), the theoretical and practical output of the collective.

The book includes:

The Protagonists: Drawings, interviews, and projects by key figures such as Alessandro Mendini (the group’s theoretical director), Ettore Sottsass, Michele De Lucchi, Paola Navone, and Andrea Branzi.

The Iconic Collections: Visual documentation of the historic exhibitions of the 1970s and 1980s, such as the famous Bau.Haus series (1979 and 1980).

The Philosophy of the "Counter-Design": Analysis of objects conceived not as mass-produced industrial products, but as "objects of spiritual craftsmanship," laden with Pointillist decorations, optical textures, and bold color juxtapositions.

The volume is presented in overall excellent condition. Cover well preserved with a discolored spine. Paperback firmly bound. Interior pages clean with no underlining, folds, or stains. An excellent copy for collection/reference.

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