Born in Padua on November 16, 1920, he went to business school; however, he quit in order to play football and race in the 1953 Mille Miglia. He designed all sorts of metal chairs for his father's firm, Rima. He also conceived school desks and various other furniture. He took part in the 9th Milan Triennale in 1951. For the first time in Italy, he offered sheet iron and aluminum chairs with foam-rubber upholstery. His design philosophy was improved after meeting Giò Ponti, who encouraged him to continue creating forms and models increasingly centered on metal. Rinaldi utilized tubing, steel rods and mesh. This gave birth to some landmark chairs for Italy in the 1950s. With Marco Zanuso, he studied the seating for Milan's Piccolo Teatro. His "DU 30" chair won the 1954 Compasso d'Oro. After leaving his father's business, he founded a brand new chair factory in 1974; he continued to design for it until the late 1980s. His objects were nominated for the Compasso d'Oro in 1978 and 1981. They were selected several times at the Triveneto Design and at the Forum Design in 1987. Gastone Rinaldi lives and works in Padua. He has worked for Zanotta since 1994.

The Designs of Gastone Rinaldi