Enzo Mari studied art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan from 1952-56 while also working as a freelance artist and graphic designer. In 1955 and 56 Mari made his debut as a designer with a display for illustrated art encyclopedia and a mobile library for the Italian publisher Bompiani.
During the same period Mari met Bruno Munari and Bruno Danese with whom he began a longtime collaboration, starting with an animal puzzle made in wood for Danese’s company. During the 1960’s and 70’s Mari designed several household and art objects for Danese while also working as an artist, critic, and university lecturer.
In 1967 he was awarded an Compasso D’oro for his research in the field of design. In 1971 Mari designed the Box Chair for Castelli and focused thereafter on furniture and lamp designs for companies such as Gavian, Magis, Zanotta, Artemide, and Driade. For the later Mari designed the Frate table made of a steel base with a glass top. In 1973 and 74 Mari launched the Proposta per un'autoprogettazione a collection of furniture made of wooden slates designed for self-assembly.
From 1976 to 79 Mari was president of the Italian Association for Industrial Design (ADI). In 1983 the first retrospective of Mari’s work is shown at the Centro Studi e Archvivo della Comunicazione of the University of Parma, to which he also donated 8,500 drawings from his own archive.
Mari designed the gracefull Tonietta chair in 1980, which was first produced by Zanotta in 1985 and was awarded the Compasso d’Oro two years later. During the 1980’s and 90’s Mari also designed products for Japanese Muji and German porcelain manufacturer KPM.
In 2002 a new edition of Mari’s book Autoprogettazione Influenced the renaissance of the DIY movement. Enzo Mari passed away at the age 88 in 2020. He is represented as a designer at a.o. the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein and the Museum of Furniture Studies in Stockholm.
