Getting To See Giugiaro’s Designs At Close Quarter

Images: MAC Museum Art & Cars

The Singen-based MAC Museum Art & Cars has organized a special exhibition titled ‘Giorgetto Giugiaro & Fabrizio Giugiaro: Masterpieces of Style’, which was inaugurated on 22nd April 2023. The exhibition will run until the end of November 2023.

The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to see at close quarters some of the unique work of the renowned Italians Giorgietto and Fabrizio Giugiaro, two designers who could easily be counted as amongst the most influential designers of the 20th century.

With over 60 million vehicles sold with their design, the Giugiaros have had a lasting impact on automotive design and have influenced the style of automobile construction around the world.

Giorgiotto Giugiaro (Giorgetto Giugiaro: The Designer Of The Century (derivaz-ives.com) is considered to be one of the most influential designers of the 20th century and designed some of the most iconic cars in the world, including the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT, the DeLorean DMC-12 and Volkswagen Golf. His designs have had a lasting influence on—as well as shaped—automotive design.

His son Fabrizio Giugiaro followed in his father's footsteps and is himself a well-known automobile designer. He has created designs in many industries such as transportation (train, tractor), electronics, furniture, and consumer goods. He is particularly known for his work on cameras, watches, and cell phones. His designs are characterized by an interesting balance of form and function.

Together father and son Giugiaros have created an impressive portfolio of designs and some of the most innovative designs in the industry. They have won many prizes and awards, including the Compasso d'Oro, the Red Dot Design Award and the Car of the Year Award.

‘Giorgetto & Fabrizio Giugiaro: Masterpieces of Style’ shows a selection of the Giugiaro's most iconic cars, including the Alfa Romeo Brera, the De Tomaso Mangusta and the BMW NAZCA M12.

Visitors can use this opportunity to take a close look at the masterpieces and admire the details that have made them timeless classics.

Father Giorgetto and son Fabrizio Giugiaro have shaped—and still shape—the world of the automobile; the father for over 60 years, and the son for 30 years now.

But far beyond the automotive industry their influences also show up in large architectural projects, industrial and railway design, furniture, and technical objects.

“The automobile evokes impressions and emotions that go far beyond the everyday use of a mechanical one,” explains the curator of this show, Emmanuel Bacquet. “In fact, it goes beyond mere means of transport: since its beginnings it has been synonymous with mobility, speed and line. It thus embodies technology and progress, as well as style and the deep originality of the culture that gave birth to it.”

“The MAC Museum Art & Cars would like to welcome one of the last great names in Italian design, and pay homage to them, Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro,” explains Emmanuel Bacquet. “Not only is the exhibition a nod to design and engineering, but also a narrative of a unique story that is so Italian of a family illuminated by the creations of both father and son.”

“The Italian coachbuilder borrowed its design ideas from the philosophy of the goldsmith's art, which is devoted to detail and to the perfection of form,” says Bacquet. “These artistic forms become industrial products that meet the needs of the market and the people.”

Despite automation, these designs are still expressions of people and their culture. Designers have faced the challenges of the industry and yet the manual aspects of their work remain. “Here you will find both the Italy of yesterday and of today: a country where design and form are in perfect symbiosis with technology and function, inspiring both culture and industry,” elaborates Bacquet. “The unity of craftsmanship and industry is still an essential part of Italy's character today.”

Even if most of Giugiaro’s designs are well known, getting to take a close look at them is getting more and more difficult—therefore, a great opportunity to see them under one roof, if you happened to be in Germany any time before November-end 2023.