Marco Zanini

Marco Zanini Designer and architect born in Trento (Northern Italy) in 1954. He is a graduate of the University of Florence. After spending three years travelling and working in the United States, he started working in Milan in 1977, initially as an assistant to Ettore Sottsass, later as a partner and managing director of Sottsass Associates. Zanini was one of the founding members of Memphis in 1980 and has designed pieces for every collection. Independently of the Associates, he designs ceramics, jewelry, furniture and objects in blown glass. He has lectured frequently on industrial design. With Sottsass Associates he has been design manager on many projects: office furniture for Knoll International retail stores for Esprit, residential interiors, showroom interiors, design exhibitions, exhibit designs, urban furniture and industrial products for a variety of clients in italy and overseas. Among his private endeavors is an exhibition called “49 Drawings and some Short Stories”, held in the Milanese gallery Antonia Jannone in 1988. The water-colors and gouaches shown are a combination of architectural and autobiographical references.