denis santachiara .................................................................................................................................................................................................................

......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary


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denis santachiara


was born the 4th of may 1950 in campagnola, reggio emilia, italy.
denis santachiara began his design career focussing on linguistic/poetic
potentiality in the artificial world. he experimented with new tecnologies
on new industrial processes in order to obtain new aesthetical values.
he always worked in between art and design, and his work has taken
part of the biennale of venice, the documenta 8 in kassel, triennale of
milan in '82,'84 and '86;
his work was shown at the centre pompidou,the louvre
and the grand palais in paris,
at the museum of modern art in tokio,
at the chicago atheneeum, the vitra museum,
at the berlaghe museum in amsterdam, at the moma in new york...
he has won several awards for design and exhibition planning.
denis santachiara works in milan.
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the design work of denis santachiara is part of following manufacturer's collections :
www.depadova.it,
www.baleri-italia.com,
www.campeggisrl.it,
www.domodinamica.com,
www.fontanaarte.it,
www.vitra.de
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we met denis santachiara at his studio in milan the 28.03.2000


when is your best moment during the day?
early in the morning

what kind of music are you listening to at the moment?
I am listening to two different styles of music, one is ambience music
and the other one is "curiosity", like russian rock for example.

are you listening at the radio?
yes, in the car.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
there are no books in the bedroom.

are you reading design magazines?
I have a look at them.

which is your everyday-media to get information?
il corriere(della sera) and il sole 24 ore ( italian newspapers)

do you register how women are dressing?
yes, but also how men are dressing, I would say, I like very simple clothes
like the scottish quilt, what is important is the cut and not the size.
( that's an italian joke "il taglio e non la taglia")... (laughter)

have you had luck with women?
I do not know, you can also be unlucky having many women... there
are no statistics to confront, if you are not considering the five,
six friends that you know... I would say women had normal attitudes...

what kind of menswear would you never put on?
I am not wearing the tie, only once... at the wedding.

do you have any pets?
my wife has a rabbit for the moment. I am coming from a peasant
family, so for me the rabbit... is food.

where are you projecting?
well, I am projecting a lot in the studio, I need to use my hands, and in
the studio there is a laboratory

for who would you like to make a project?
in this moment for companies who focus selling through internet.

is there any designer in past you appreciate a lot?
the russian constructivists, malevich...

if it is possible to talk about colleagues; is there any particular
you appreciate?
I like almost all design production. I am used to planning exhibitions,
so therefore I have to appreciate the work of others,
even the very young designers are interesting.

when you are working, are you discussing or having an exchange
with your colleagues and/or with the entrepreneurs ?
yes with alberto meda, in the past with philip starck, and with ron arad.

describe your style, like a good friend of your's would describe it.
I do not have a style, I am working a lot on the idea of a product, not
only the physical shape, which can be more or less beautiful,
for me the small inventions are of importance.

which of your projects have given you a great satisfaction?
and which among your objects do you like most?
of my more poetical works: the first collection for domodinamica,
the folding chair for vitra of my more "products".

at the news broadcast they said that the italians are afraid of
the lack of work, the criminality and the pollution.
what is making you afraid?
I fear the catastrophists,
all of them who are thinking only in a negative way of the future.
these people believe in something, but they don't really know about it.
for example the criminality of today is nothing compared to it of the
17th or the 15th century...
but this does not mean that there are no problems.





denis santachiara
© designboom






'baba',
de padova





'notturno italiano',
domodinamica





'santachair', detail
vitra





'swing'
domodinamica

the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ....................................................................................................................................................
in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions: an album to record thoughts, feelings".
seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire which was a common and appreciated amusement
in the literary saloons in the 19th century's paris .
for designboom denis santachiara has answered these 'old fashioned' questions...................................................................................................



the main lineaments of my character
my father's name was sereno (clear,serene) - I am the same

a quality I desire in a man
the calmness

a quality I desire in a woman
the autonomy

what I appreciate most among my friends
that they are friends

my principal defect
egocentrism

my favourite occupation
is my work

my dream of felicity
to create without the need of a commitent

what would for me being the biggest misfortune
not being able to create and work

whom I would like to be
somebody even more serene than me

the country were I would like to live
italy

the colour I prefer
there are many, maybe I am looking at yellow more
willingly, anyway the solar colours

the flower I love
the calla

the bird I prefer
the swallow

my favourite authors on prose
I do not have any, ...Woody Allen

my favourite poets
I belong to the generation on the road,
allen ginsberg


my heroes in fiction
alien

my heroines in fiction
thelma and louise

my favourite composers
verdi, wagner, laurie anderson

my favourite artists
leonardo (da vinci) was also a designer, the russian futurists, malevich

my heroes in real life
all researchers, jean baudrillard

my heroines in history
marie curie

my favourite names
denis, in combination with my surname

what I hate most
"aerated" persons, they are very enthusiastic for nothing

the historic characters I dislike most
it is easy to say the big dictators

the military enterprise I like most
st. petersburg's defence, they resisted the nazi's entry for three years

the reformation I appreciate most
the end of the slavery, in modern times the elimination of the servitude

the natures gift I would like to have
I would like to know how to play (an instrument)

how I would like to die
late, better to die of pleasure than with the desire of it

my soul's present condition
harmonious

the faults I can support
human weakness

my motto.
I do not have a motto but a moto

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