Enzo Mari (27 April 1932^[1][2] – 19 October 2020) was an Italian modernist artist and furniture designer who is known to have influenced many generations of industrial designers.^[3][4]

Mari was born in Novara, Italy, and he studied at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy from 1952 to 1956.^[5]

He drew inspiration from the idealism of the arts and crafts movement and his political views as a communist.^[6]

From 1956 onward, he specialized in industrial design and created a portfolio of more than 2,000 works.^[5] In the 1960s, he published a series of books with his then-wife Iela Mari, including "The Apple and the Butterfly," a book of illustrations depicting the story of a caterpillar and an apple, without any text.^[7]

In the 1970s as a professor at The Humanitarian Society, he founded the Nuova Tendenza art movement in Milan.^[8] Also in that decade, he designed the Sof Sof chair^[9] and the "Box" chair.^[10] In 1974, in reaction to the mass production of furniture, Enzo Mari created a book entitled, Autoprogettazione, which deals with the DIY construction of furniture and provides plans and instructions on how to create 19 items of furniture from ubiquitous materials.^[11][12] In the 1980s, he designed the modernist Tonietta chair.^[13]

Mari also taught at University of Parma, the Accademia Carrara, and the Milan Polytechnic.^[8]

Multiple works by Mari have been on display at the Museum of Modern Art.^[14] He had retrospective shows in Turin,^[15] and an important presentation of his work in the "Adhocracy" show, during the first Istanbul Design Biennial. In addition, the Triennale, Milan is exhibiting a tribute to Mari, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli.^[16]

He donated the archive of his designs to the city of Milan on the condition that it may not be displayed for 40 years.^[5]

Mari married children's book illustrator Iela Mari in 1955; they had two children.^[17]

He married art critic, theoretician and performance artist Lea Vergine,^[18] in 1978. They had known each other since the 1960s.^[19] He died from COVID-19 on 19 October 2020, at the age of 88, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.^[20] His wife died a day later, also from COVID-19.^[21]

• "autoprogettazione?", 1974

• Compasso d'Oro award: 1967 "for individual research in design" ^[22]
• Compasso d'Oro award: 1979 for the "Delfina" chair ^[22]
• Compasso d'Oro award: 1987 for the "Tonietta" chair ^[22]
• Compasso d'Oro award: 2001 for the "Legato" table ^[22]
• The RSA of London presented him with the award of "HonRDI" (Honorary Royal Designer for Industry) in 2000. Only 200 people may hold this title at any time.^[23]
• The Faculty of Architecture at Milan Polytechnic presented Mari with an honorary degree in Industrial Design in 2002.^[24]

• "Form is everything."^[6]

• "Design is dead."^[6]

• "I want to create models for a different society."^[25]