Renato Airoldi, Enrico Mantero, et al., Asnago/Vender Architetti, Como, 1986, n.p. Michele Marelli, 'I mobili di Asnago e Vender', Canturium, no. 58, October 2018, illustrated p. 22
Catalogue Essay
The following works, lots 29, 30 and 31, were designed by the Milanese architects Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender for a villa in Cantù completed in 1934. Having received their qualification at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna in 1922, Asnago and Vender formed one of Milan’s most prolific architecture practices, working together until Asnago’s retirement in 1971. The simple volumes and structural clarity of the present furniture designs illustrate the architects’ minimalist approach to Italian Rationalism. This clarity is exemplified by the present table (lot 31) in which the slender metal frame and glass tabletop allow light to filter through the structure and surface. Asnago and Vender continued to develop the design, presenting at the 1936 Milan Triennale a version with two x-supports – an element that would become characteristic of their furniture designs.