Gabriele Devecchi, a Committed Designer

Abstract

The analysis of Gabriele Devecchi’s writings offers the opportunity to understand and illustrate his work and the period he lived in. The variety of languages he employed reflects the multiple areas of interest with which he engaged. Besides the texts of the avant-garde artist and the committed intellectual, there is a large corpus of considerations on arts and crafts inspired by his personal entrepreneurial experience. Devecchi’s theoretical and critical work and his commitment to informing a wider audience culminate in the book Artigiano immaginario (“Imaginary craftsman”, 2010), an erudite reflection on the transition from minor arts to design, channelled through the literary device of the impossible interview with figures from the past, and accompanied by a short treatise on silver metallurgy based on Devecchi’s own knowledge of this craft as well as on his design culture. Devecchi’s writings show that he has always been a committed designer, pondering on the sense of his work, in every field he practised.