Anna Gili

Anna Gili (born 1960) is an Italian designer and artist. She has been working in performance and installation art since the 1980s and founded her design studio in 1989.

Life and career

Anna Gili was born in Orvieto, Umbria, Italy. She graduated from I.S.I.A. (Istituto Superiore Industrie Artistiche) in Florence. Afterwards, she moved to Milan, where she founded her professional studio in 1989. Anna Gili Design Studio (AGDS) works for companies in the furniture and home furnishings field, including Alessi, Byblos casa, Bisazza mosaics, Cappellini, Cassina, Dornbracht, Ritzenhoff, Salviati, Slamp, Swarovski, Swatch, TDK Europe, Trend Mosaics, and Valcucine.^[1]

In 2007, Gili produced limited-edition collections of objects and furniture for Memphis,^[2] as well as collections for CVM (Murano Glassmaking Company) in 2008, Atala in 2010, Carlo Poggio Design in 2011, and Artbeat in 2013.^[3]

Notable projects

Gili expresses herself through performances and avant-garde creations, which became the base for her later work like the "Tonda" armchair and the "Cro" vase. Her works were inspired through disciplines such as art, fashion, comics, interior design, and architecture.^[4]

Her early artworks like Abito sonoro ("Sonorous garment") (1984), Persone dipinte ("Painted persons") (1986), and Vestito di fiori (Flower dress) (1987) reveal her sense of the climate of the post-radical design movement at the time. Her recent work, including PETit Table^[5] and 78 other pieces of zoomorphic-style design objects, conveys her attention to zoosemiotic research. It has been said that "her work moves beyond the playful into the realm of the symbolic, and that changes everything".^[6]

Gili was the model for the famous corkscrew "Anna G." by Alessi, "...an iconographic corkscrew that looks just like her and, just like Anna Gili, manages to bring a bit of joie de vivre into our homes...."^[6]

Performances and art installations

• Abito sonoro (1984), P.A.C. Pavillon of Contemporary Art in Milan; Seibu department store, Tokyo (1986); Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf (1986)
• Persone dipinte (1986), Museo Alchimia, Milan.
• Vestito di fiori (1987), Fiorucci, Milan.
• Artists' Space – a solo exhibition (1987), New York.
• Nuovo Bel Design – 100 Italian Young Designers for 100 Italian Companies (Curator), Salone Internazionale del Mobile (1992)
• "Noah's Ark" installation – Salone Internazionale del Mobile (1999), Milan
• "Wonderloft", interior design, house project (2005), Milan
• "Elephant Planet", design sculpture installation in a park, Triennale di Milano (2013)
• "Animalove", a solo exhibition, Seoul Arts Center (2014), Korea.^[7]

She has been involved in exhibitions in art and design at Centre Pompidou in Paris, Seoul Arts Center in Korea, Louisiana Revy museum in Denmark, Artists' Space in New York, Ubersee-Museum in Bremen, PAC Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Milan Triennale, Denver Art Museum, Megaron Athens Concert Hall, Warehouses in the Seibu Giappone, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Galleria Kaess Weiss in Stuttgart, Museum Alchimia in Milan, and Expo in Taejon in Korea.^[8]

Design projects

• "Cro" ceramic vase, Alessi-Tendentse (1984)
• "Tonda" armchair, Cappellini, Italy (1991)
• "Murai" low table, Cassina, Italy (1991)
• "Vases of the sea", blown glasses collections, Salviati, Venice (1992)
• "Win" stainless steel ashlar beaker, Alessi 1994
• "Rigati" hand-blown glass, Salviati, Venice (1996)
• "Dog", "Donkey", "Horse","Cat" Luminos pictures, Slamp (1999)
• "Mandala with Animals", mosaic pictures, Bisazza, Vicenza (2000)
• "Chinese Zoodiac", collection of 12 mosaic pictures, Trend Mosaic (2002)
• "Figure Presenti", furniture collections in limited editions, Memphis (2007)
• "Masked Vases", hand-blown glass, limited series CVM, Venice (2008)
• "Re, Regina, Principessa", collection of objects in silver and Limoges porcelain, De Vecchi Argenteria (2010)
• "Jungle", collections of figures in stainless steel, Alessi (2010)
• "A viso aperto", furniture in sublimated plating, Carlo Poggio Design (2011)^[9]
• "ABC", collection of ceramic vases related to zoosemiotics, Artbeat (2013)^[10]

Her research has led her to create her own zoosemiotic language and an engineering-like use of colour in decor and interior design. In relation to this, she says, "for me it is a necessity to live in relation to the color, because I think that living is a creative act."^[11]

Gili works in a space that she calls "WonderLoft". Use of color is one of the most distinctive aspect of her works.^[12]

Bibliography

• New Italian Design, Rizzoli International, USA, 1990
• Euro Design, Graphic-Sha, Japan, 1993
• Contemporary Italian Furniture, Edizioni L'Archivolto, Italy 1995
• La Fabbrica dell'Arte, Abitare Segesta, Italy 1996
• 1000 Chairs, Taschen, Germany, 1997
• Contemporary Italian Famous Designs, Kahoku, Cina, 1998
• The International Design Year Book, UK, 1996, 1997, 2000
• Anna Gili, Mental Bodies, Edizioni L'Archivolto 2001^[4]
• Italian Designers at home, Verba Volant Ldt. London 2006
• European Design Since 1985, Shaping the New Century – c/o Indianapolis Museum of Art, Michigan (Usa) 2009
• Quali cose siamo – III Triennale Design Museum, Electa Editions 2010
• Le fabbriche dei sogni, Museo del Design Triennale di Milano Electa 2011
• Ultrabody, 208 opere tra arte e design, Corraini Edizioni 2012
• TDM7 –"Auto da sé", Il design italiano oltre le crisi- Autarchia, austerità, autoproduzione, Triennale Museo del Design, Electa editions 2014
• Terrific Design, 24 ORE cultura srl, Milan 2014
• Animalove, How the Magic World of Anna Gili was born, Fausto Lupetti Editore 2014^[13]

Awards

• GrandesignEtico, international award "Animalove" book I, Fausto Lupetti Editore, 2nd prize 2014^[14]
• GrandesignEtico, international award "A viso aperto" cupboard, nomination 2012
• GrandesignEtico, international award "Space bicycle" bicycle design sculpture, nomination 2012

References

External links

• Official website