For Giuliano Zuccato, a native of Italy, it was a serendipitous path from a river powered sawmill near Venice where he cut raw timber for the locals to the design studios of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. Shortly after leaving his Country to seek a better future, he contracted a rare disease of the bone that put him in a full body cast for 18 months.
As he lay imprisoned by his cast able only to move his arms he began to carve the shape of a human face on a bar of soap to occupy his time and retain his sanity. He then further developed his new found talent by using clay as his medium.
His work was brought to the attention of a local newspaper and, as a result, a patron of the arts, suggested the possibility to look at car design as a way to make a living. Zuccato retired from Motor Company in 1988 after 31 years as a master sculptor and was part of the team that designed the 1964 Mustang. In the following years, he owned and operated a successful automotive development business. He now devotes a great deal of time to sculpturing portraitures and to his passion, Opera. In his home he frequently hosts Opera concerts to help young students in their studies.
Zuccato’s forefathers were prominent Venetian mosaicists of the 16th who collaborated with the famous painter Titian. In keeping with this tradition he himself recently tackled mosaics as an art form. His philosophy of life and longevity is to never stop evolving and experimenting. “I am to busy living death will have to wait for me” He says with sage confidence.
50 YEARS OF MUSTANG
Come nasce un’ icona mondiale: la Ford Mustang.
Giuliano Zuccato ci ha raccontato la sua incredibile esperienza, quale disegnatore del gruppo Ford Motor Company, di come lui e il suo team hanno dato vita e introdotto la Ford Mustang, 50 anni fa.