Argentine artist and designer Tomás Maldonado dies at 96 in Milan

Tomás Maldonado, the Argentine painter, designer, and philosopher, died in Milan at age 96. Born in Buenos Aires in 1922, he was a key figure in the Argentine avant-garde. In 1935, he co-founded the Arte Concreta-Invenzione association with other intellectuals, producing the Invenzionist Manifesto. He later founded Arte Concreto Invención in 1945, advocating non-representational art. Maldonado taught at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm (where he also served as president and rector), Princeton University, the University of Bologna, and was professor emeritus at the Politecnico di Milano. Between 1964 and 1967, he developed an innovative symbol system for Olivetti computers with Gui Bonsiepe, and collaborated with Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti. He also created corporate images for Rinascente and Upim. His theoretical works include 'Cultura, democrazia, ambiente' (1990), 'Reale e virtuale' (1992), 'Che cos’è un intellettuale?' (1995), 'Critica della ragione informatica' (1997), 'Memoria e conoscenza' (2005), and 'Arte e artefatti' (2010), an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist. He was married to publisher Inge Feltrinelli, who died in Milan two months earlier.