Angelo Testa

About Angelo Testa

Angelo Testa (1921-1984, United States) was an influential designer, painter, and sculptor whose mass-produced printed textiles helped popularize and commercialize modernist aesthetics in the United States, emphasizing an integration of arts and architecture. Born to Italian immigrants in Springfield, Massachusetts, Testa graduated from Laszlo Moholy-Nagy's School of Design (which eventually became part of the Illinois Institute of Technology) in 1945, studying with Moholy-Nagy, Bauhaus weaver Marli Ehrman, and architect Ralph Rapson. He established Angelo Testa & Company in 1947 but continued to produce and sell iconic designs such as Little Man, Campagna, and Animal Forms. In addition to Knoll Associates, Testa's clients included Herman Miller, Jens Risom, IBM, and TWA. His textiles were regularly featured in the Museum of Modern Art's Good Design exhibitions and are included in numerous museum collections, including Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

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