On this day (13 July) in 2011, the Franco-Italian sculptor and designer, Giacomo Benevelli died in Pavia.
Benevelli had been born in Reggio Emilia in 1925 and spent much of his childhood in France. Later, he made his home in Milan. Studying both in France and Italy, the sculptor began exhibiting his works internationally during the late 1950s and from 1966 onwards, took the position as Head of Sculpture at the Accademia di Brera in Milan.
Famous for his smoothly elegant, incessant and tactile sculptures, arabesco semi-cut-out designs and the futuristic, almost Nautilus-shaped rota lamp, Benevelli collaborated with Natuzzi furniture in 2009. With regard to his designs, Giacomo maintained that, “the sculpted form must open and enclose, without losing its unity and disassemble, or actually disintegrate. The line that defines its contour should progress to infinity like the light around a halo”.
Images: Black and white photograph of Giacomo Benevelli. Copyright © 2000–2020 Stylepark AG.
Giacomo Benevelli, Arabesque Light Sculpture, 1960-1970, lacquered metal and wood. Manufacturer: Missaglia, Italy. Copyright © Wow Gallery.
Rota Lamp. ©Alchetron.com.
Organic Matrix, 1963, bronze. Copyright © 2011 The Heirs of Giacomo Benevelli, © Tiziano Alderighi.
References: Giacomo Benevelli Website.