Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba, born in 1976 in Massa Lombarda (Ravenna) but a resident of Cesena for many years, is an artist and designer who studied at the Severini Art Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna. His artistic training influenced an approach to design in which creativity and industrial production are constantly intertwined. The fundamental elements of Malerba's stylistic language are irony and nature - two aspects of his imaginative universe populated by fantastic, dreamlike, extravagant and surreal creatures. The relationship between people and nature is one of the most recurring themes in his work, particularly in his sculpture, whether large creations such as the gigantic giraffes in the self-produced collection She's in Love but She Doesn't Know It Yet, or small objects like the famous Monkey Lamp and Mouse Lamp made for Seletti.
Art is an essential muse for Marcantonio, who is fascinated by surrealist artists like Magritte and Dadaists like Duchamp. Marcantonio began his career in the art world until, after exhibiting his sprout chairs in various art galleries, he decided to present them at the Salone del Mobile in 2010. These objects met with great success, consecrating him in the design world. In addition to Seletti, Marcantonio collaborates with Qeeboo, Scarlet Splendour, Natuzzi, Opinion Ciatti, Slamp, Mogg, Altreforme, Nodus, Scapin Collezioni and Anthropologie. He also self-produces authorial and artistic works with numerous forays into interior design.
In addition to the lamps mentioned above, his most iconic projects include the Bastaa coat stand for Mogg, an ash wood hammer with a brass head fixed to the wall as a coat rack; the Love in Bloom vase/sculpture for Seletti, an anatomical heart-shaped vase; the Filicudi chair for Qeeboo inspired by the prickly pear, a typical Mediterranean plant; and the monkey-shaped Gorilla Chair for Scarlet Splendour. A fluorescent green Gorilla-shaped sculpture was the star of the Giorgio Armani autumn/winter 2020-2021 Women's and Men's fashion shows, chosen by the designer as a testimonial to his commitment to the protection of animals and the environment. Animale Vegetale (The Heart), created on the trunk of a dead beech tree, was featured in the first edition of Arteparco in the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise.