Willie Landels
Born in Venice in 1928, a Scottish father and Italian mother, he spent his childhood and youth on Lake Como. In 1946 he attended the Artistic High School in Brera in Milan for a few months. From 1947 to 1948 he attended the Teatro alla Scala of Milan as a scenographer student. In 1947 he set up a personal exhibition of surrealist collages at the Vinciana Library in Milan. In 1950 he moved to London. In 1951 he was commissioned to execute a moving sculpture and a photographic mural for the "Industrial Power" exhibition in Glasgow, for the Festival of Britain. From 1951 to 1965 he is Art Director at J.W. Thompson and from 1965 to 1968 at the Queen magazine. In 1970 he founded the magazine "Harpers & Queen" and until 1985 held the position of manager and art director director. In 1963 he draws for his own use an armchair that will become the Throw-Away chair; discovered by Aurelio Zanotta in 1965. In 1987 participates in the collection AD 23 (Aram Designs) with the One x One chair. Since 1985 he has dedicated himself to painting and graphic design and furniture for private customers. Every two years he exhibits personal exhibitions in London, Hamburg and Sidney.