Antonio Aricò was born into a large and close-knit family of woodworkers in the town of Reggio in the Calabria region of Italy in 1983. After graduating from the Politecnico di Milano with a degree in Industrial Design in 2008 and taking a postgraduate course in Industrial Design at Alta Scuola Politecnica in Turin, Aricò studied Metal & Jewelry Design at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Scotland, Product Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, and Traditional Furniture Design at the Centro Escuela de la Madera in Spain.
In 2011, he launched his own studio, based in both Milan and Reggio, dedicated to a practice that integrates the traditional artisanal methods of Southern Italy with the high-concept approaches that characterize the most editorially successful work of contemporary design. His career took off following his 2012 FuoriSalone exhibition Back Home, which featured a limited-edition collection of hand-hewn wood furniture and objects produced in collaboration with his grandfather and uncle. Since then, Aricò has received several commissions from major Italian brands, including Barilla Group, Seletti, and Alessi.
Aricò’s work has been widely exhibited at design venues around the world, such as DMY in Berlin, Maison & Objet in Paris, Design Centrum Kielce in Poland, L’Église in Turin. A number of high-profile design tastemakers—Li Edelkoort, Rossana Orlandi, Maria Cristian Didero, Silvana Annicchiarico, and Andrea Branzi—have recognized his work as among the best out there today.
Aricò’s standout designs to date include Watering Kettle Cans (2011), the Dumba Chair (2012), the Swing Chair for the Wabi Sabi: Slow Italian Design exhibition in Turin (2012), the Tasty Chair and olive oil accessories for Padiglione Italia (2013), Blowing Man glass objects for Editamateria (2015), Still Alive storage vessels for Saletti (2015), Australian Shells handmade ceramic dinnerware (2015), and the Petite Mariée collection of wedding gifts for Alessi (2016).
Antonio continues to work side-by-side with his grandfather, Saverio Zaminga, while also seeking out new ventures and partnerships around the world that will embrace his simple yet rigorous design thinking, as well as his spontaneous and enthusiastic solutions to creating everyday objects with high quality materials and an intense attention to detail.
* Product images courtesy of Antonio Aricò
