Biography

While studying architecture at the Politecnico in Milan, Gabriella Crespi was particularly impressed by the visions of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. Starting in the 1950s, Gabriella Crespi began designing furniture and objects with a strong sculptural character, a trait that would continue to define her style in the years to come. The shape of a crescent moon dominates her early work, the “Small Lune Collection.” Starting in the 1960s, she began a fruitful collaboration with the House of Dior in the field of objects and tableware. Crespi achieved her international breakthrough in 1968 with the presentation of the first prototype of the Plurimi series in Dallas. The title of these “metamorphic” interior objects refers to the painter and sculptor Emilio Vedova. Crespi designed extendable tables and other multifunctional small furniture pieces in materials such as steel and brass that can change their shape, thereby constantly creating new spatial configurations through the interplay of volume and light.

The 1970s were particularly productive for the designer; her most famous works were created during this decade: In addition to the so-called Plurimi, Crespi created bronze sculptures using the lost-wax casting technique, such as the fairy-tale-like ‘Animali,’ the bamboo collection Rising Sun, and the Fungo lamps. Her work is characterized by a balance between design, nature, light, and spiritual experiences.

In the 1980s, she presented her final Plurimo. In 1985, Crespi gradually withdrew from the world of design to devote herself to the spiritual side of her life. Beginning in 1987, she lived in India for two decades, where she met her spiritual teacher, Sri Muniraji. In the early 2000s, she returned to Italy and received significant accolades, including a retrospective in 2011 at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. In 2013, a limited reissue of the “Tavolo Scultura” was unveiled in a version crafted from Belgian black marble. On the occasion of the 2015 Salone del Mobile, Gabriella Crespi presented the “New Bronze Age” series, a collection of her designs realized in bronze for the first time. In 2016, Gabriella Crespi created her final work, the “Wave Desk.”

Objects by Gabriella Crespi