Dodona Library by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide, 1970s

Dodona Library is an original vintage design work realized in the 1970s by the Italian designer Ernesto Gismondi (Sanremo, 1931 – Milan, 2020). Original plastics materials. Created for Artemide. Made in Italy. The label of Artemide is present too. Excellent conditions. Dodona Library is an original design work realized in the 1970s by the Italian designer Ernesto Gismondi (Sanremo, 1931 – Milan, 2020). From the early 1960s he devoted himself to the design and production of lighting fixtures, founding Studio Artemide S.a.s. with the designer Sergio Mazza, from which the Artemide Group will develop. He established himself as an international designer, participating, as one of the creators, in “Memphis”, an avant-garde movement that has determined a profound evolution of the design sector in Italy and in the world and designing several successful luminaires for the Group. Under his leadership, the Artemide Group has seen its market share grow over the years and increase its international presence, becoming one of the main operators in the design lighting sector, a role that has earned it important awards such as the Compasso d ‘ Gold for Lifetime Achievement (1994) and the European Design Prize (1997). From 1964 to 1984 he was associate professor of Missile Engines at the Politecnico di Milano. He was vice president of ADI – Industrial Design Association and has held numerous positions in the Lombard Industrial Association (Assolombarda), Federmeccanica, Confindustria, the Autonomous Fiera di Milano and at the Ministry for University and Research. He is also a member of the Scientific Didactic Committee of the I.S.I.A. (Higher Institute for Artistic Industries / Industrial Design) of Florence, with the appointment of the Ministry of Public Education, the Board of Arbiters of the COSMIT (Organizing Committee of the Milan Furniture Fair) and the CNEL, upon designation by the President of the Republic. He has chaired and participated in numerous seminars, in Italy and abroad, on design and its developments and on energy saving applied to lighting. In 2008 he received the Ernst & Young Award ”The Entrepreneur of the Year 2008” for the Innovation category, in addition to the prestigious appointment as Cavaliere del Lavoro conferred by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano. In 2009 he received the Ernst & Young Award ”Entrepreneur of the Year 2009” in the Communication category. In 2018 he won the Compasso d’Oro for his career with the following jury motivation: ”Aerospace engineer, university professor and entrepreneur, in short: a man of multifaceted genius. Founder of Artemide, he immediately uses design processes as a distinctive factor and in this long path he encourages and enhances collaborations with the national and international design world. A coherent example of how the design project can be a concrete strategic lever of cultural and economic growth, he has always worked so that Italian design could be a virtuous example at an international level.”.