Italian, b. 1935
Mario Bellini is an Italian architect and designer known for his sleek and sophisticated couches, sofas, and dining chairs, that serve style as well as functionality. Commonly associated with his Camaleonda modular sofa, the set of square seats can be separated and rearranged. He attended the Polytechnic University of Milan and earned a PhD in architecture in 1959. After completing his education, Bellini was hired as a consultant to Italian electronics company Olivetti, where he remodeled the typewriter. It was at this time that he also became well known for his furniture designs, namely his trademark office chairs—Figura, Persona, Imago, and Forma. Since the 1980s, he has devoted himself to architecture with numerous prestigious projects including the Sheik Zayed Museum in 2007 and the London Link Bridge at Deustche Bank in 2010. Today, Bellini lives and works in Milan, Italy. His work is currently held in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Dallas Museum of Art, and The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum of Design in New York, among others.
