Mario Federico Roggero was among Carlo Mollino’s closest friends, to whom we owe the conservation of the Mollino archive, lovingly assembled after his friend's death in 1973. Although Roggero was the Dean of the Architecture Faculty at the Politecnico in Turin, where his friend Mollino also taught, their relationship went beyong that of a professional collaboration and was rooted in human understanding.
It is not easy to place Roggero amongst designers. It would be more appropriate to consider him a creator of unique furniture conceived for his clients, much like his peers Carlo Mollino, Roberto Gabetti & Aimaro Isola and Franco Campo & Carlo Graffi. His rare design works are exceptional in their uniqueness, executed by the best craftsmen whom he supervised throughout the production process.
The present armchair perfectly represents the historical period in which it was made. The significant wooden frame is supported by shaped feet to lighten its line, and the spatial importance of each component part of the armchair is individually recognisable. The armrests detach from the seat with an aerial structure ending in anthropomorphic supports while the pair of wings rise freely from the backrest displaying a distinct presence. The whole composition recalls the supple lines of Art Nouveau which partially inspired the organic tendency of some post-war Italian architecture and design. The elements of the work come together in a coherent and unified manner thanks to the fabric upholstery that gives the armchair an elegance and air of splendour.
By Fulvio Ferrari, Author and Director of the Museo Casa Mollino, Turin
Provenance
Private collection, Rome
Literature
Davide Alaimo, Mobili di Architetti e Progettisti Torinesi 1945-1965, Turin, 2018, p. 197