“Artist, writer, inventor, designer, architect, and illustrator,” as he described himself, Bruno Munari began his career as a graphic designer at an early age. Born in Milan in 1907, he reached out for the Futurist movement in 1926, and in 1927 he exhibited at Galleria Pesaro, as well as in the Biennials and Quadrennials of the 1930s. His artistic activity ranges from painting to collage, to design to polymaterial works. In 1934 he appeared among the signatories of the Manifesto tecnico dell’aeroplastica futurista, and in 1935, he executed a series of abstract paintings. In 1930 he associated with Riccardo Castagneri and with the R + M brand, the two artists will produce advertising graphics until 1938. In 1930, he produced the Macchina aerea (Aerial Machine), from which came his Macchine inutili (Useless Machines), anticipating his interest in the deconstruction of the traditional work of “.
In the second half of the 1930s, he got in contact with the circle of artists surrounding the Milione gallery, in which he exhibited his metaphysical objects in 1940. In 1942 he published a book on Macchine inutili and in 1947 he began producing them in editions. From 1939 to 1945, he worked as a graphic designer for Mondadori and as art director for the magazine Tempo. In 1945, with the same publisher, he began his books for children: conceived for his son Alberto, they were then translated all over the world. In 1948, he was among the founders of the MAC (Concrete Art Movement), alongside Gillo Dorfles, Gianni Monnet and Atanasio Soldati.
From 1949 he starts the Libri Illegibili series. From 1952 he began producing foam rubber toys, cubic ashtrays, knitted lamps. He signed the Manifesto del Macchinismo. In 1962 he organized at the Olivetti store in Milan the first Arte Programmata official show.
In 1954 he was awarded of Compasso d’Oro Prize; at the beginning of the 1970s he held some university courses at Harvard University.
Munari exhibited extensively throughout his lifetime: in 1955, he had a two-person exhibition with Alvin Lustig at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and in 1966, had a solo exhibition at the Howard Wise Gallery, New York. He also participated in major international exhibitions, including Documenta 3; Kassel, 1964; Documenta 4; Kassel, 1968, and nine editions of the Venice Biennale. He died on 30 September 1998 in Milan.
