It is not easy to talk about Mario Maioli, architect, urbanist, designer and painter, but above all, extraordinary coordinator of talents and master of the art, so little practised in Italy, of never putting yourself in the front row " Giovanni Klaus Koenig.

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Mario Maioli, born in Valenza (IT) in 1931 and the son of a well-known goldsmith, began his career as an architect, cooperating on important urbanistic projects with famous Italian colleagues such as Pier Luigi Spadolini and Giuliano Guiducci.

Subsequently, as a Head of Centro Stile Fiat  Auto, he was for 15 years, between the ’80 and the ’90, one of the protagonists in the car design projects for Fiat, Lancia, Autobianchi and Alfa Romeo.   

These included among other cars developed during that period, FIAT UNO, which was produced in over 15 million units and the famous “cinque barrette” (five bars) logo that has been FIAT trademark throughout that time.

 

At the end of his career, making use of technologies borrowed from the industrial production processes, he applied them as an artist by writing a new page in the history of jewellery.

 

Mario Maioli is a painter as well, as shown by his acrylic-painted surfaces, which are firmly structured in their composition. His works have been shown in various international art exhibitions worldwide with Fondazione Sartirana Arte and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura.

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Mario Maioli reminds us in his short autobiography of the meaning of his work:

 

“In all my professional life I’ve always believed it is important to be coherent and economical, to respect the needs of society, to favour the honest and innovative aspects of design, without indulging in any easy aesthetics, in complete freedom and no internal or external influence”

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He now lives in Lugano (CH) where he continues to be active with his passion as a painter.