1980s Post Modern
Vintage 1980s Austrian Post-Modern Vases
Ceramic
Vintage 1980s North American Post-Modern Console Tables
Laminate, Wood
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Laminate
Vintage 1980s Vases
Pottery
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Armchairs
Metal
20th Century American Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Glass
Late 20th Century Portuguese Post-Modern Candlesticks
Ceramic
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Ceramics
Ceramic
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Upholstery
Vintage 1980s North American Art Deco Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Carrara Marble, Stainless Steel
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Steel
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
Copper
Vintage 1980s Hollywood Regency Benches
Upholstery
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Wall Mirrors
Iron
20th Century French Post-Modern Wall Clocks
Plastic
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Glass, Lacquer
Vintage 1980s American Organic Modern Paintings
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
Aluminum
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
Chrome
Late 20th Century Sofas
Fabric, Foam, Down, Feathers
Vintage 1980s Danish Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Late 20th Century European Post-Modern Credenzas
Laminate
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern End Tables
Fiberglass
Late 20th Century North American Post-Modern Vases
Aluminum
Vintage 1980s Spanish Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern End Tables
Sandstone, Brass
Vintage 1980s British Side Tables
Glass, Plastic
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s German Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal
Vintage 1980s Modern Dressers
Lacquer
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Vases
Bronze
Late 20th Century European Post-Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Wood
Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Console Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Sculptures and Carvings
Acrylic
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1970s European Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
Metal
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Hollywood Regency Side Tables
Brass
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Barware
Marble
Vintage 1980s German Post-Modern Shelves
Ash, Lacquer
Vintage 1980s Table Lamps
Fiberglass, Wood
Late 20th Century Asian Post-Modern Decorative Boxes
Stone
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Rocking Chairs
Hide, Lucite
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Metal
Vintage 1980s American Modern Daybeds
Steel
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Night Stands
Hardwood
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome, Stainless Steel, Steel, Brass
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Side Tables
Glass
Vintage 1980s German Post-Modern Cabinets
Metal, Brass
Vintage 1980s American Art Deco Lounge Chairs
Fabric
Vintage 1980s Philippine Hollywood Regency Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone
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1980s Post Modern For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a 1980s Post Modern?
A Close Look at post-modern Furniture
Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Emerges during the 1960s; popularity explodes during the ’80s
- A reaction to prevailing conventions of modernism by mainly American architects
- Architect Robert Venturi critiques modern architecture in his Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966)
- Theorist Charles Jencks, who championed architecture filled with allusions and cultural references, writes The Language of Post-Modern Architecture (1977)
- Italian design collective the Memphis Group, also known as Memphis Milano, meets for the first time (1980)
- Memphis collective debuts more than 50 objects and furnishings at Salone del Milano (1981)
- Interest in style declines, minimalism gains steam
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
- Dizzying graphic patterns and an emphasis on loud, off-the-wall colors
- Use of plastic and laminates, glass, metal and marble; lacquered and painted wood
- Unconventional proportions and abundant ornamentation
- Playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
- Ettore Sottsass
- Robert Venturi
- Alessandro Mendini
- Michele de Lucchi
- Michael Graves
- Nathalie du Pasquier
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 12, 2024Bold, head-turning looks were in fashion during the 1980s. It was the decade of bright electric neon colors as well as suits, jackets, tops and dresses with shoulder pads. The aerobics and fitness craze of the ’80s spilled over into fashion, with people sporting leg warmers, headbands and leggings as everyday apparel. Punk culture also influenced style, with leather jackets, fishnet stockings and chunky metal jewelry being favored by some. Denim looks of the time were often baggy and flaunted acid washes. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of vintage apparel and accessories from the 1980s.
- Was plaid popular in the 1980s?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2024Yes, plaid was popular in the 1980s. Interestingly, it was a signature feature of two very different styles that trended during the decade. Plaid appeared on pleated skirts and blazers, common among the preppy set. In addition, many in the punk subculture sported plaid pants and dresses. Find a wide variety of 1980s apparel and accessories on 1stDibs.
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This Rare Set of 100 Alessi Vases Includes Designs by Scores of International Artists
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