An Alphabet of Singular Objects:
At the heart of the Ollo project lies the concept of a “typological alphabet.” Each object is a letter, each motif a word, each ensemble a poem. The goal is not to create just another collection, but a complete language—one to be conjugated throughout an entire space.
Take for example the Ollo wooden table (1988), a centerpiece of the series.
This table playfully echoes Jean Dunand’s 1929 game table, yet it reinterprets it with a futuristic wink. When the chairs are tucked in, the table takes on a cubic form, becoming a decorative totem. The chairs slide silently under the table in a kind of geometric ritual. Each element is designed to interact with the others, forming a true architectural ensemble.
Another iconic piece: the Ollo column cabinets (1989), anthropomorphic bookcases with hypnotic patterns, standing like sentinels in the domestic space.
Every piece seems to emerge from a parallel universe where Mendini re-conceptualizes the very rules of good taste.
A Permanent Metamorphosis:
More than a style, Ollo is a process of transformation. The world is seen as a matter to be decorated, diverted—but above all, dreamed. Furniture becomes a narrative medium. Mendini dictates nothing. Instead, through this alphabet, he offers a grammar, leaving it up to us to inject our own syntax.
In an era still trying to rationalize space, Mendini chooses joyful saturation. Against the rigidity of innovation for innovation’s sake, he brings a design that is emotional and excessive. It is no longer about furnishing, but about celebrating, turning everyday objects into a visual ceremony.
In the end, the Ollo series is a true language to be learned and tamed. Mendini offers us a lexicon of forms and colors for all those – like us – who still believe that an object can have a sense of humor.
Mendini even said that an ornamental world was on its way. With the Ollo collection, it’s up to us to write the next chapter.
The Ollo Series, an Alphabet to Dress the World
There are objects that speak, and then there are those that write. The Ollo series, imagined by Alessandro Mendini between 1987 and 1990 under the aegis of Alchimia Trade, does precisely that. This unique collection traces a visual alphabet, a symbolic chromatic language joyfully meant to contaminate our interiors.
More than a mere collection, Ollo is a language, composed of an alphabet made of objects, signs, and dreams.
The Genesis of a Language:
Born in the final flamboyant hours of Studio Alchimia, the Ollo series emerges as a final cry for creative freedom. Partially unveiled at Documenta 8 in Kassel in 1987, then in Milan in 1988, the project was published under the Museo Alchimia label, reflecting a desire to blur the boundaries between gallery, boutique, and museum.
Here, objects are no longer merely meant to serve, but to convey ideas.
Combining refined craftsmanship, hand-painted surfaces, and artistic experimentation, Alessandro Mendini positions Olloat the crossroads of design disciplines.
Through its strange motifs, one understands the ambition for a design that no longer apologizes for being ornamental. Supported by Alessandro Guerriero, Mendini turns each piece into a “contaminated” element of this particularly playful creative spirit.
With this collection, Mendini doesn’t see the object as a tool, but as a canvas. Against the cold functionality of the Bauhaus, he proposes a disconcerting sensitivity where furniture becomes painting, rugs become architecture, and vases become sculpture.
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