The Italians have christened her affectionately “Hurricane”. And indeed that’s what she is. Patricia Urquiola sweeps through the world of international design, which is rather a male domain, like an indefatigable whirlwind. As one of very few women on the scene, the Spanish-born designer has for years been one of the great figures in the contemporary art of design. When asked about her mentors, she mentions the key figures in Italian design like Vico Magistretti and Achille Castiglioni, both of whom have significantly influenced her later design style. She graduated from the Polytechnic in Milan under Achille Castiglioni, and that’s where she also discovered her passion for product design.
The creative whirlwind Patricia Urquiola has an unmistakable signature: her creations are vibrant and sensual, they live on memories and a diversity of features and embody a harmonic mixture which endows her designs with a very special poetry. Daily life is a very important source for her inspirations. She describes the way she works like this: “I am eclectic, versatile and diverse. I like to think on different levels at the same time, in architecture and design. I am interested in behavioural patterns, trade techniques, in specific things from my past, which I reinterpret using new technologies, in individual aspects of my life and in a mixture of all of these.” Her designs are backed by a lively and spirited expressiveness, which is surely also rooted in her Spanish origins. At the same time she exudes warmth and sensitivity – an expression of her own feminine perception.
Patricia Urquiola’s already famous creations — which have received numerous awards — for the “Who’s Who” of international design for the home such as Alessi, B&B Italia, De Padova, Driade, Kartell, Molteni, Moroso and Rosenthal – to name but a few of her long list of clients – reflect her wide-ranging creativity and enormous creative power. Patricia Urquiola was born in Oviedo (Spain) and lives with her husband and two children in Milan where she also has her studio.
If you want to find out more about Patricia Urquiola, then please take part in our survey: the first 50 entrants will receive an illustrated book on Patricia Urquiola, the work and creations of this world-famous designer, which has just been published. For participating, please click here.
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