Writing Desk "Erasmo", Design by Massimo Scolari
Beautiful design of a writing desk, captivating through its elegant lines and flowing form. Executed in solid and veneered rosewood, Makassar, and walnut woods. The “Erasmo” desk is considered one of Massimo Scolari’s iconic furniture designs and dates from the period when he was Art Director at Giorgetti.
The three drawers, crafted in rosewood — two narrow and one deep — are lockable on both sides and rotatable 360°; on each side there is a pull knob made of satin-finished nickel and walnut wood.
The desktop is executed in triple book-matched Makassar ebony veneer with a surrounding frieze/edge in solid rosewood and is fitted with a concealed multi-socket power outlet and a cable port. On both sides of the top there is a narrow pull-out drawer. The bottoms of the drawers are elegantly lined with light saddle leather.
The base of the drawer cabinet as well as the end of the foot, which is crafted in solid Canaletto walnut, are executed in satin-finished nickel.
Biography Massimo Scolari (born 1943):
Degree in Architecture in Milan in 1969.
In 1973, he began teaching History of Architecture in Palermo and History and Techniques of Drawing at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV). In 1983, he was appointed Associate Professor and in 1986 Full Professor.
His studies on representation were published by Marsilio in Il disegno obliquo (2005). Between 1975 and 1993, he was a visiting professor at several universities, including Cornell University, Cooper Union (New York), the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (New York), the Technical University of Vienna, and Harvard University, Cambridge. Since 2006, he has been Davenport Visiting Professor at the Yale School of Architecture.
He served as editor of “Controspazio,” “Casabella,” and “Lotus International,” director of “Eidos” (1989 – 1995), and director of the architectural book series at Franco Angeli (1973 – 1988).
From 1989 to 2011, he designed furniture for Giorgetti, where he also served as Art Director until 2001.
He organized exhibitions in Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States. His works are included in the permanent collections of MoMA (New York), the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (Frankfurt), and the Centre Pompidou (Paris). He created installations for the Venice Biennale in 1980, 1984, 1991, 1996, and 2004, as well as for the Milan Triennale in 1973 and 1986.
In 2001, he resigned from his position at the Italian university. In the same year, he obtained a pilot’s license. In 2007, on the occasion of his solo exhibition at the City Museum of Riva del Garda, Skira published a monograph, later translated into English for the exhibitions at the Yale School of Architecture (February – May 2012) and Cooper Union (October – November 2012).
In 2014, he was awarded the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York.
