“When I design an object and people say, ‘Oh, well done!’, I unfailingly ask myself, ‘Where did I go wrong?” the Italian designer Enzo Mari once told an interviewer. “If everybody likes it, it means I have confirmed the existing reality and this is precisely what I don’t want.” This declaration sums up the contrarian nature of a man who once described his nation’s design as “pornography”, made by the “Italian mafia for the Russian mafia”. Mari, who died in 2020, was an unrepentant communist and a staunch critic of consumerism, who regularly lambasted the design industry. Yet he became one of the most influential figures of 20th century design, with many of his creations still in production today, including his ever popular children’s toy, 16 Animali: a series of cartoonish animals cut from a single piece of oak, which can be nestled together like a jigsaw puzzle.

The Design Museum’s exhibition – curated by Hans Ulrich and Francesca Giacomelli – is a compelling testament to a man who was full of contradictions. It shows the breadth of Mari’s 60-year career, amassing hundreds of his projects, ranging from furniture, children’s books and games, product and graphic design, to more conceptual installation-based works. An impressive cast of artists have also been commissioned to respond to the work, including Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Mimmo Jodice and Dozie Kanu, showcased in a free display on the first floor’s balcony. See Mari’s spirit live on, in all manner of guises.