Sergio Asti

1926 Mailand



Sergio Asti studied art and architecture in Milan from 1947 to 1953, where he opened his first studio in the very same year.
As an architect, interior designer, and industrial designer, Sergio Asti worked for companies such as Artemide, Arteluce, Brionvega, Candle, Kartell, Knoll International, Martinelli Luce, Poltronova, Salviati, and Venini. He designed pieces of furniture, lamps, electric appliances and many other objects. In 1953 the designer started to experiment with synthetic materials. In the 1950ies he created acrylic resin lamps for Kartell. Sergio Asti was a founding member of the ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) that was formed in 1956.
1968 Martinelli Luce produced Sergio Asti's fiber glass lamp "Profiterole". For Candle, a Milan-based company, Sergio Asti designed "Daruma", a spherical lamp that was produced in six different sizes and, probably due to its timelessness and simplicity, turned out to become a great success.
In the same year, 1969, the production of Asti's folding chair "Navy", started. Three years later, in 1972, he designed "Ruota", a glazed ceramic vase, for Kartell.
Sergio Asti won the Compasso d'Oro in the years 1955, 1956, 1959, 1962 and 1970; one of the award-winning Asti creations was "Marco", a glass vase for Salviati (1962). Sergio Asti's furniture, interior decoration accessories, and lamps are regarded as typical of the organic design produced in postwar Milan.