$12,835 / item
Luca Coffee Table Large by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
$10,443 / item
Luca Coffee Table Small by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
$4,228 / item
Riso Side Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Marble
$7,252 / item
Chair C by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$5,587 / item
Trono Block Beige Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$4,228 / item
Riso Side Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Marble
$6,054 / item
Pica Sola Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
$5,587 / item
Trono Block Brown Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
$12,865 / item
Large Andrea Nesting Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
$4,832 / item
Trono Pill Black Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$16,006 / set
Set of Trono Block Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Steel
$5,587 / item
Trono Pill Beige Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$10,446 / item
Small Andrea Nesting Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
$4,832 / item
Trono Block Black Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$23,405 / item
Trave Sofa by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Brass
$4,530 / item
Trono Pill White Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Mohair, Upholstery
$15,200 / set
Set of Trono Pill Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$4,228 / item
Trono Block Pink Chair by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
Umberto Bellardi Ricci Pica Table
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Deposit 50% / Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Custom Listing / Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
$7,097 / item
Mano Standing Lamp Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$11,023 / item
Mano Floor Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Brass
$12,080 / item
Mano Standing Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$5,146 / item
Pica Piccola Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Steel
$10,570 / item
Pica Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
$18,875 / item
Spira Standing Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
$10,268 / item
Fackel Wall Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$5,436 / item
Malle Aluminium Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
Mano Small Wall Lamp Mounted Uplighter by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$10,570 / item
Barra Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Steel
$18,920 / item
Spira Floor Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum
$4,907 / item
Malle Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$11,325 / item
Mano Wall-Down Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$11,325 / item
Mano Wall-Vert Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$9,838 / item
Fackel Standing Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
Set of Mano Small Wall Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$11,325 / item
Mano Wall-Up Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
Mano Small Wall Lamp Mounted-Vertical Side Lighter by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$4,454 / item
Malle Small Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
$11,325 / item
Leaning Mano Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Brass
$11,023 / item
Leaning Mano Lamp by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Brass
Mano Small Wall Lamp Mounted Downlighter by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
Jenna Lyons, Portrait Painting
By Manuel Santelices
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Movies, TV and magazines are constant source of inspiration. Fame, as fleckring and shallow it can be sometimes, is very intriguing to him. The worlds of fashion, society and pop cu...
Paper, Gouache
Platinum 35 Carats Cascading Round Diamond Waterfall Earrings
Located in New York, NY
Post and omega back. As seen on Jenna Lyons at Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show.
Diamond, Platinum
Luca Coffee Table Large by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Luca Coffee Table Large by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Chair C by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Aluminum, Brass
Luca Coffee Table Large by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Luca Coffee Table Large by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Set of 2 Andrea and Luca Coffee Table by Umberto Bellardi Ricci
Located in Geneve, CH
Having taught architecture for many years at the Architectural Association in London and at the Cornell University in New York, he designed the home for Turner Price laureate Laure P...
Travertine, Bronze
Lavanche Side Table by Serafini
Located in Geneve, CH
Lavanche side table by Serafini Special Edition Materials: Marble. Dimensions: D 40 x H 50 cm The Lavanche side table, designed by Piotr Dabrowa for Serafini, is a continuation of ...
Marble
Rodolfo side table 90s Y2K style Baleri Italia
By Enrico Baleri, Baleri Italia
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Rodolfo side table designed by Enrico Baleri for Baleri Italia. This table was published in the 90s. Half transparent table top and steel legs in polished finish. Really good exampl...
Steel
Sacha Chair by Resident
Located in Geneve, CH
Red Sacha Chair by Resident Dimensions: W 43 x D 49 x H 86 cm Materials: Upholstered Plywood, Foam, Steel. Weight: 14.5 Kg. About: Founded by Simon James & Scott Bridgens in 2011, ...
Steel
Sol Chair by Giacomo Tomazzi Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Sol Chair by Giacomo Tomazzi Studio Dimensions: W 60 x D 48 x H 90 cm Materials: Main structure in polished stainless steel tube, Spheres in solid sucupira wood, Seat in curved lamin...
Stainless Steel
$6,400
H 11.25 in W 43 in D 43 in
French ‘Saturn’ Coffee Table in the Manner of Claude Berraldacci, 1980s
Located in Chicago, IL
A French coffee table from the 1980s, made in the manner of Claude Berraldacci, and executed in travertine. The Saturn coffee table is defined by its interplay of solid and transpar...
Travertine
Berlin Side Table by Greg Natale
By Greg Natale
Located in Sydney,, NSW
With a nod to the postmodern structures of Ettore Sottsass and a presence all its own, the Berlin side table is a striking study in monochromes and the natural beauty of marble. M...
Marble
Mor Side Table & Stool by Samuel Dos Santos
Located in Geneve, CH
MOR side table & stool by Samuel Dos Santos Materials: Limestone. Honed finishing. Dimensions: W 48 x D 48 x H 66 cm MOR it´s the new side table/stool designed by Samuel Dos San...
Limestone
Melaina chair designed by Rodolfo Bonetto for Driade
By Driade, Rodolfo Bonetto
Located in BE
A striking Melaina chair designed by Rodolfo Bonetto for Driade in 1970. Crafted in fiberglass and finished in its original glossy white lacquer, this iconic Italian design embodies ...
Fiberglass
Echo Chair Designed by Jane Worthington
Located in Castelo da Maia, PT
Minimal but expressive, ECHO captures the moment where silence becomes shape — a reflection of balance, restraint, and timeless design. A steel structure grounds the design in streng...
Aluminum
Una Coffee Table by Giacomo Tomazzi Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Una Coffee Table by Giacomo Tomazzi Studio Dimensions: W 110 x D 110 x H 25 cm Materials: Wood. ABOUT Giácomo Tomazzi graduated in architecture and urban planning from the Federal U...
Wood
Ana Chair by Serafini
Located in Geneve, CH
Ana chair by Serafini Designed by Arielle Assouline-Lichten Dimensions: D 71 x W 71 x H 71 cm Materials: Travertino Navona, leather, brass. Available in other marbles and leather col...
Marble, Brass
Shadow Side Table by Cesare Arosio
By Laura Meroni
Located in Milan, IT
With a structure in lacquered metal and support surfaces in a choice of marbles and glasses from the collection, this version of the Shadow Side Table features a satin brass painted ...
Marble, Metal
$10,248
H 15.75 in W 41.34 in D 41.34 in
Angelo Mangiarotti Coffee Table from Eros Series Designed by Skipper
By Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in London, England
Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, and academic known for his influential work in the fields of architecture and design. He was born on Feb...
Stone
Luca Coffee Table small Travertine stone table
Located in Brooklyn, US
Luca Coffee Table small Travertine stone table Dimensions: 43"W x 28"D x 12"H Finishes Available: Stone Top: Madre Perola, Travertine, Empress Green Marble Base: Patinated Textu...
Stone, Metal
Senhorita Medium Side Table by Gabriela Campos
Located in Geneve, CH
Senhorita Medium Side Table by Gabriela Campos Dimensions: D35 x W35 x H50 cm. Materials: PORTOGALLO + ROSSO SICILY + BROWN ONYX In 1907 Picasso presented to a few friends the work ...
Onyx, Marble
Object 067 Coffee Table by NG Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Object 067 coffee table by NG design. Dimensions: D 75 x H3 6 cm. Materials: powder coated steel. Also available: All of objects available in different materials and colors on d...
Steel
$7,889Sale Price|20% Off
H 16.93 in W 27.96 in D 16.15 in
Ignazio Gardella Italian Brass Glass LP12 Sconces Wall Lamps Azucena Italy 1960s
By Ignazio Gardella, Azucena
Located in Reggio Emilia, IT
Italian mid-century modern design large sconces wall lamps "LP12" model designed by Ignazio Gardella and produced by Azucena with brass frame and opal glass diffusers, Azucena brand ...
Brass
Candelera 02 by Federico Stefanovich
By Casa Quieta
Located in Mexico City, MX
Candelera 02 is a large-format mobile light sculpture made of steel. In addition to presenting itself as a sculptural composition, its starting point is completely functional. Pro...
Steel
'Floatation' Japanese Paper Suspension Lamp for Ingo Maurer
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
'Floatation' Japanese paper suspension lamp for Ingo Maurer. Designed and produced by Ingo Maurer, one of the most celebrated German lighting icons since 1966. With imagination, cre...
Metal, Iron
$2,680 / item
H 29.93 in W 25.2 in D 53.55 in
Luxury Solid Wood Pitta Bar Cart with Timeless Brazilian Design
By Amilcar Oliveira
Located in São Paulo, SP
The Pitta Bar Cart is a piece that combines functionality with timeless design. Crafted from solid wood with a natural finish, it highlights the unique grain and tones of the materia...
Hardwood
$2,960 / item
H 80.71 in W 48.04 in D 19.69 in
"Rotula" Minimalist Style Floor Lamp in painted steel and natural wood
By Alessandra Delgado
Located in Alto da Lapa, SP
This floor lamp in painted steel and natural wood has a minimalist style. For the "Rotula" floor lamp, Alessandra Delgado was inspired by the subtle elegance of the human body. You c...
Steel
$4,461 / set
H 27.56 in W 38.19 in D 40.16 in
Togo Sofa by Michel Ducaroy for Ligne Roset, Customised in Green Corduroy
Located in PARIS, FR
When French designer Michel Ducaroy presented the Togo to Ligne Roset in 1973, he described it as "a tube of toothpaste folded back on itself." A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts...
Fabric, Foam
$4,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 26.5 in W 115 in D 35 in
Wonderful 2 Piece Harvey Probber Sectional Sofa Mid-century
By Harvey Probber
Located in Pemberton, NJ
Wonderful 2 piece signed Harvey Probber sectional sofa. This piece is in vintage condition with it's original floral tapesty fabric which does show wear. This sofa will definitely n...
Upholstery
$1,600
H 17.5 in Dm 12 in
Midcentury Postmodern Clear Glass Block End Table or Side Table after Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A very cool architectural design from the 1980s. It features heavy solid glass block construction with thick clear glass top.
Glass
$4,760Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 33.47 in W 36.03 in D 18.12 in
Pair of Paul McCobb Planner Group Chest of Drawers Dresser
By Paul McCobb
Located in Berlin, DE
Nice aluminum ring pull version in solid maple on this matching pair of Paul McCobb drawer for Winchendon from the famous Planner Group Series.
Aluminum
Carl Auböck Model #5371 'Heart' Polished Brass Paperweight
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Carl Auböck Model #5371 'Heart' Polished Brass Paperweight Designed in the 1950s, this beautifully refined Viennese paperweight is hand-fabricated in polished brass by Werkstätte Ca...
Brass
Coin Bank in the Shape of the Woolworth Building
Located in New York, NY
This piece came from the personal collection of Thierry Despont (1948 - 2023), perhaps best known for his architectural practice—which played integral roles in the restoration of the...
Metal
Art Deco Hand-Painted White Scalloped Bowl by Arthur Percy, Gefle, 1930s
By Gefle, Arthur Percy
Located in Grythyttan, SE
Elegant Swedish Art Deco serving bowl designed by Arthur Percy (1886–1976) for Gefle Porslinsfabrik, from the Gyllen series. The organically scalloped, undulating form gives the bowl...
Stoneware
$3,431 / set
H 30.71 in W 20.87 in D 19.69 in
Danish Brutalist Oak Dining Chairs by Henning Kjærnulf, 1960s. Set of 6.
By Henning Kjærnulf
Located in Asaa, DK
Danish Brutalist Oak Dining Chairs by Henning Kjærnulf, 1960s. Set of 6. Set of six Danish Mid-Century Modern dining chairs designed by Danish architect Henning Kjærnulf and manufac...
Velvet, Oak
Mid-Century Modern Leather Sideboard by De Couro, Brazil, 1980s
By De Couro
Located in Linkebeek, BE
Sideboard - A Pair available - Vintage 1980s A Pair available : model without cable pass Rare and elegant, this Brazilian sideboard from the De Couro collection testifies to the refi...
Leather, Wood
$1,700
H 20.48 in Dm 36.23 in
Eero Aarnio for Asko Chair Orange Fiberglass Pastil or 'Pastille', Finland, 1968
By Asko, Eero Aarnio
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
An orange high gloss fiberglass 'Pastille' ('pastil' or 'Gyro') chair designed by Finish designer Eero Aarnio in 1968 for modern furniture maker Asko Oy in Helsinki, Finland. This vi...
Fiberglass
Vintage Brass and Glass Hoof Footed Side Table
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This vintage side table pairs Mid-Century Modern design with a solid brass frame and elegant hoof feet, lending a refined, sculptural presence to any room. Each leg tapers gracefully...
Metal
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
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
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.
It's hard to resist the allure of a beautiful pool. So, go ahead and daydream about whiling away your summer in paradise.
Alessandro Mendini, Michael Graves, Ettore Sottsass and other design luminaries contributed to this unusual collection of porcelain wares representing a time capsule of late-20th-century decorative art.
Aided by photos taken of the maestro in his Milan studio, we honor the influential design talent who died last month at 87.
Adam Charlap Hyman and Andre Herrero, rising young design talents, are debuting a new, eclectic line of textiles.