In his long professional activity Tobia Scarpa (Venice, 1935) has been dealing with architecture, restoration, set-ups, industrial design, graphics, teaching. Since 1960s he established himself as a leader in industrial design.

For Dino Gavina he designed Pigreco chair (1960), Bastiano sofa (1960) and Vanessa bed (1962), pieces that later became iconic on the international design scene. Always alongside the Bolognese entrepreneur he took part in the creation of Flos, for which he designed numerous lamps including Fantasma (1961), Foglio (1966) and Biagio (1968).

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Ph. Alberto Vendrame (Studio Arch. Tobia Scarpa)

For ART CITY Segnala 2020 on the occasion of Arte Fiera, Paradisoterrestre presents an artistic project by Tobia Scarpa.

Starting from an interpretation of Melencolia I, enigmatic masterpiece by Albrecht Dürer, the Venetian architect creates three limited edition artworks for Paradisoterrestre.

Realized by the German artist in 1514, the engraving has been the protagonist of countless investigations and the subject of a very extensive literature. With its enigmatic elements, it has not only attracted scholars in search of a possible and coherent interpretation, but also obsessed many artists up to the most recent contemporaneity, so that we can speak of a “persistence” of Dürer’s Melencolia I in the collective imagination.

Press release

Ph. Mattia Tonelli