"Frate" Tempered Glass Top Benchwood Beam And Steel Table By E. Mari For Driade

"Frate" is a table, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, with black anthracite painted steel sections structure braced through a solid beechwood beam with rectangular tempered glass th. 0.47" top.Indoor use only.DIMENSIONS:D. 31.4", W. 82.6", H. 28.3"Enzo Mari was thinking clearly as usual when he decided to realize this tables collection using transparent crystal tops in order to valorize the harsh simplicity of steel sections bases. Designed in 1973 and uninterruptedly produced since then, these pieces can be certainly numbered among the most successful ones by the Italian design master.ENZO MARI is universally considered as one of the greatest theorists of Italian and world design. Since the 50s he has been participating in avant-garde design movements, joining the group of Kinetic Art where he met Bruno Munari, who influenced some of his future works. By the 60s he already held a prominent position on the Italian design scene, with a particular focus on the functional aspects of products. In his work Mari addresses “problems with the psychology of vision and programming in the field of aesthetic research”, always in the context of reflection “on human work (...) from the intellectual/planning phase to manual or industrial execution” (Burkhardt, 1997).In 1972 Mari took part in the "Italy – The New Domestic Landscape" exhibition at the MOMA in New York. Mari’s works are displayed in the world's most important art and design museums, including the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, the New York Museum of Modern Art and the Louvre in Paris. His hundreds of projects are all marked by a strong theoretical approach and include children’s books, graphics, kitchen utensils, table accessories and furnishings for Alessi, Driade, Hermés, Zanotta, and Zani & Zani. He won four "Compasso d'oro" design awards.