Deanna Comellini
Designer and Art Director
Deanna Comellini studied in Bologna’s artistic environment in the 1970s, spending time in various art studios.In an era of profound social and conceptual changes, she approached the world of industrial design through collaborations with Bolognese companies until when, in 1977, she founded the company G.T.DESIGN, of which she is designer and art director.
She experimented by combining craftsmanship and design while working first on objects and then on home textiles. During this process, she has developed the notion of ‘imperfect design’, a philosophy that is marked by the search for, and the enhancement of imperfections to celebrate authenticity.
She participated in prestigious international exhibitions and collaborated with important architectural figures, including Toyo Ito and the Zaha Hadid Architects studio.
Deanna Comellini
Designer and Art Director
Deanna Comellini studied in Bologna’s artistic environment in the 1970s, spending time in various art studios.In an era of profound social and conceptual changes, she approached the world of industrial design through collaborations with Bolognese companies until when, in 1977, she founded the company G.T.DESIGN, of which she is designer and art director.
She experimented by combining craftsmanship and design while working first on objects and then on home textiles. During this process, she has developed the notion of ‘imperfect design’, a philosophy that is marked by the search for, and the enhancement of imperfections to celebrate authenticity.
She participated in prestigious international exhibitions and collaborated with important architectural figures, including Toyo Ito and the Zaha Hadid Architects studio.
“Maybe it’s because I approached industrial design after having been trained as an artist, but I am convinced that authenticity should be a core value in every project.”
Deanna Comellini
Ce n’est pas un tapis, c’est un objet
With the brand G.T.DESIGN, Deanna Comellini has been designing and producing her own objects since 1977. She began her journey by investigating a new relationship between materials, forms and everyday practices. It is this curiosity for materials that has always guided her work. Her interest in researching the fundamental elements of living has led her to focus on the object rug, reinterpreting it through the language of design and thus inventing a new compositional grammar.
It was with the collections Coconutrug (1986), presented with the statement “Ce n’est pas un tapis, c’est un objet”, and Kama (2001), that Deanna Comellini defined her vision of the rug, understood no longer as a furnishing accessory but as a primary object of living, thus revolutionizing the contemporary rug industry.
“I am attracted by the everyday practices related to the use of rugs. On a rug you can eat, play, sleep. In the home it represents a fundamental space, it is a place with which to interact and establish a daily confrontation. I imagine a home in which the only object is a rug.”
Deanna Comellini
2001, “Il Manifesto del Tappeto Contemporaneo”
Manifesto of the Contemporary Rug
In 2001, with the “Manifesto of the Contemporary Rug” for G.T.DESIGN, Deanna Comellini has expressed her vision of the contemporary rug as a design object with a new soul and function, launching a trend that has influenced and profoundly changed the industry.
“The rug is the earth-platform on which we were born. It is just like us. It is the first element in the creation of an intimate and domestic atmosphere. In the home, it represents the scent, the habits, the poetry. The rug is an archaic symbol that G.T.DESIGN transforms into something contemporary, a part of everyday life, a sign that indicates the boundaries of our personal space.”
Deanna Comellini, “Manifesto of the Contemporary Rug”
“Hers is a fresh look that extends the vision of the rug from a simple furnishing accessory to an essential space, transforming it from a global archetype into a contemporary, minimal element that is indispensable for interior design.”
Elena Sommariva – Domus
Forbes 2022
Deanna Comellini as one of the “100 Most Influential Women of 2022”
“In 2022, the Italian edition of Forbes included Deanna Comellini among the “100 most influential women of the year,” but the designer says she was unimpressed. “What matters is that I have managed to pursue my business in a personal way,” explains the founder and art director of G.T.DESIGN, a textile design pioneer who revolutionized the concept of the contemporary rug by transforming it from a simple accessory to an essential element of interior design.”
Raffaella Oliva – The Book
“Deanna weaves rugs that have the vibrations of the atmosphere, the dryness of the earth, the softness of mosses, the sheen of waters, the warmth of the sun, the vibration of flames. Rugs that are lands on which to be, that are ideas of dwelling.”
Cristina Morozzi – journalist, critic and curator
