ROBERTO SAMBONET 1974 – 1979
[Design Grafica Pittura]
Bruno Monguzzi
Bruno Monguzzi: ROBERTO SAMBONET 1974 – 1979 [Design Grafica Pittura]. Milan: Palazzo Bagatti Valsecchi, 1980. Original impression. Poster. 27 x 38.75 - inch [68.58 x 98.425 cm] trim size image printed via offset lithography on a semi glossy sheet in two colors. Folded into eighths [as issued], with resultant trivial wear along folds, otherwise a fine, fresh example.
A 27 x 38.75 - inch [68.58 x 98.425 cm] poster designed by Bruno Monguzzi for an exhibition of Roberto Sambonet’s work at the Palazzo Bagatti Valsecchi (closed on Mondays). Printed in Italy by Arti Grafiche Nadasio.
“Superficial and stylish graphic designers tend to reduce their syntax to a temporary gospel and spread it everywhere on everything. Good design solutions, however, are probably timeless.” — Bruno Monguzzi
Bruno Monguzzi (Swiss, b. 1941) studied Graphic Design in Geneva, then Typography, Photography and Gestalt Psychology in London. “I left for London where I selected a few courses: Romek Marber’s at St Martin’s, Dennis Bailey’s at Central, photography at the London School of Printing. Thanks to Ken Briggs, whom I had also met at St Martin’s and who tried to answer my many questions, I discovered Gestalt psychology and became very involved in the study of visual perception. It is at that point, in 1961, that I started to believe in graphic design as a problem-solving profession rather than a problem-making one and that I slowly began to push away my hidden dream to became another Werner Bischof. It was also at the time that I began to understand and to love the American school: Gene Federico, Herb Lubalin, Lou Dorfsman, Lou Danziger, Charles and Ray Eames.”
“In the second issue of Neue Grafik I discovered the Milanese pioneers – Studio Boggeri, Max Huber, Franco Grignani – and I decided to fly to Milan to meet Antonio Boggeri. I still remember the tiny elevator of 3 Piazza Duse. On the slow, shaky journey up to the sixth floor I felt uneasy. And I felt uneasy for the following two years, having fallen in love with the man, his ideas, the designs of Aldo Calabresi and the office with the balcony overlooking the Giardini. After a few weeks of desperate struggle to be good enough to stay there, I was called for. Lifting his lean, long hands – the most beautiful hands I have ever seen – Boggeri shared with me his theory about the spider’s web. Like the spider’s web, he said, Swiss graphic design was perfect, but often of a useless perfection. The web, he stated, was only useful when harmed by the entangled fly. It was then that my vocabulary began to increase. And it was then that my use of type and pictures began to grow towards more expressive solutions.”
Monguzzi started as an assistant at Studio Boggeri in 1961, became Antonio Boggeri’s son-law in 1974, and curated and designed the Studio Boggeri retrospective at the Milan Triennale in 1981.
In 1971, Monguzzi received the Bodoni prize for his contribution to Italian graphic design and he became a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale in 1979. In 1983, in association with Visuel Design Jean Widmer, he won the competition for the signage system and identity for the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Monguzzi was Art Consultant for Abitare magazine from 1986 to 1991. He was the sole designer for Museo Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano from 1987 to 2004. He lives and works in Meride, Switzerland. [All Monguzzi quotes first published in Eye no. 1 vol. 1, 1990]
Roberto Sambonet (Italian, 1924 – 1993) was an Italian designer, architect and painter. He studied architecture at Milan University, but soon dedicated himself to painting. After his great successes in Europe and Brazil, he switched over to design and opened a studio in Milan.
Sambonet was a graphic consultant for Pirelli, Alfa Romeo, Renault, Touring Club Italiano, RAI, Tobu Tokyo department stores, Feltrinelli and Einaudi Publishers. He was art director of the architecture review Zodiac from 1956 to 1960. As an industrial designer, he worked on projects for La Rinascente, Baccarat, Bing & Grondhal, Richard Ginori, Seguso Murano and Tiffany, working in glass, crystal and porcelain.
He was awarded the Compasso d’Oro, 1956, 1970, 1979, 1995, and Milan Triennale Grand Prix, 1960. His art was shown at solo exhibitions in São Paulo, Milan, Helsinki, Lugano, then in Stockholm, Venice, Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, New York, Turin and Paris. His final years, spent between Milan and New York, were devoted to painting, ranging from portraits to landscapes to abstract works.
In 1974, together with Bruno Munari, Bob Noorda and Pino Tovaglia, designs the Lombardy Region brand. He will never leave the painter’s work and is famous for the series of portraits of friends and personalities of culture. He was a member of ADI and president of the Italian section of the AGI Alliance Graphique Internationale.