Carlo Mollino and the Turin School

Turin, the 1950s. While Milan conquered the world with sleek lines and industrial elegance, something different was happening in the shadow of the Alps. At the Politecnico, a man who designed race cars, flew stunt planes, and created furniture that looked ready to leap off the floor was teaching architecture.

Carlo Mollino was no ordinary architect. He was an obsessive perfectionist who believed everything was permissible, as long as it was fantastic. His chairs have the curves of a woman's body. His tables seem to float. Where the rest of Italy chose rationalism, Mollino chose emotion.

Among his students at the Politecnico di Torino were Franco Campo and Carlo Graffi. They graduated around 1950, collaborated with Mollino on projects including the Teatro Regio, and in 1956 founded their own atelier: Home.

Campo and Graffi carried forward Mollino's essence, but translated it into something more accessible. Where Mollino created unique art pieces — no manufacturer would work with him — his students designed furniture that could actually go into production. Their teak mirrors, chairs and tables combine Scandinavian influences with that typical Turin flair: organic curves, sculptural forms, craftsmanship you can see and feel.

Mollino originals have become museum pieces. They hang in MoMA, the Victoria and Albert, the Brooklyn Museum. Auction prices are astronomical.

But the work of Campo and Graffi? That's the accessible gateway to the same design philosophy. The same Turin tradition. The same attention to how light falls on curved wood.

At Vintz, we currently have two chairs by Campo and Graffi in our collection — direct heirs to Mollino's design vision. View them in our shop.