Artists

Marcello Morandini was born in Mantua on 15 May 1940. He moved to Varese in 1947.

He attended the Accademia di Brera, while at the same time working for a professional studio in Milan. His first sculptures were produced during those years. In 1964 he opened a graphic studio in Varese, followed by one in Milan and another in Genoa with Eugenio Carmi. He started his first design prcjects for Gabbianelli and Kartell and an important collaboration with Umberto Eco for Bompiani. In Genoa he designed the décor for the Fiera dei paesi africani del mare and made the first restructure study for the rising Galleria La Bertesca, of which he was a founding member and which published the first monograph on him for an exhibition of his work curated by Tommaso Trini.

That year he also had a solo room in the 34^th Venice Biennale.

In 1969 he designed and supervised the construction of his own studio-house in Varese, transferring his studio to it the following year. For some years he taught at the art college in Varese.

In 1972 he had his first retrospective exhibition at the Kestner-Gesellschaft in Hanover. This marked the start of an active collaboration with German museums, galleries and manufacturers, particularly with Rosenthal in Selb. In 1975 the first general catalogue of his artistic work was published by Peter Pfeiffer. In 1977 he organized the second Simposio Internazionale di studi di arte costruttiva at the Civic Museums of Varese, on the concept of serialism i n art, and he was present i n Documenta 6. I n 1982 he received a grant from the DAAD for a three month study trip to Berlin, and he was invited with Attilio Marcolli to Documenta Urbana in Kassel. In the early eighties he began a long collaboration with two architectural firms, Miraglia in Varese and OngEtOng in Singapore, for various important projects concerned with architecture and urban furnishings. In Germany he designed and supervised the construction of the 220meter-long facade for the Thomas porcelain factory in Speichersdorf (1984) and the new administration building for Rosenthal in Selb (1987). In 1991 he designed a 36-story commercial building in Kuala Lumpur. At the same time he continued his collaboration in the design field with European and Japanese companies. In 1990 he was invited to the International Forum far Gestaltung in Ulm, and the international conference Mid in Lisbon, coinciding with a solo exhibition of his design work. In 1993 he was the delegate for the "projects" section of the selection committee for the Swiss Design Preis in Soletta.

That year he also had his first major selective exhibition combining art and design at the Neue Sammlung museum in Munich. Between 1995 and 1997 he taught art and design at the Sommer Akademie in Salzburg and at the Sommer Akademie in Plauen, in Germany. Since 1997 he has taught design at the Scuola Cantonale in Lausanne and was director of the Museo Internazionale Design Ceramico in Cerro di Laveno for three years.