Leipzig, Germany - Furniture designs from the short but fruitful career of Joe Colombo (1930-71) are the focus of a special exhibition to open April 3 at the Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany.

The Italian was initially a painter and sculptor, coming late to design, only to die of heart failure on his 41st birthday, but he is famed for the Boby Trolley, a small chest of swing-out drawers on five castors which can be easily moved around office desks.

The show, entitled "Joe Colombo, the Discovery of the Future," is being hosted by the Grassi museum of applied art and will include prototypes by the Milan designer and illustrate all his important furniture, the Grassi said.

Colombo's original sketches, technical drawings, models, films and photos will also be on show.

Cesare "Joe" Colombo is now recognized as one of Italy's greatest product designers.

He came up with the world's first one-piece chair, the stackable, plastic model Universale.

He also designed lamps and other products in glass.

The Leipzig show, with its retrospective look at furnishings from the 1960s to the 1980s, was set up in cooperation with the Design Museum at Weil am Rhein, Germany as well as the Triennale di Milano and the Joe Colombo Studio of Milan.

Internet: www. grassimuseum. de (dpa)