Skip to main content

Enzo Mari Sofas

Italian, 1932-2020

Enzo Mari was an influential industrial designer and a beloved curmudgeon who revered Marxism. His vintage mid-century modern designs are simple, functional and poetic. Widely known Mari-designed objects include desk accessories, such as the Formosa perpetual wall calendar, vases, cocktail tables and chandeliers

Enzo Mari's work is embedded within the city of Milan, the Italian capital of all things design. In fact, the traffic bollards he devised are part of the city itself: Shaped like "panettone" cakes, they simultaneously direct traffic and provide seating for pedestrians.

In 1974, Mari published Autoprogettazione? (roughly translated as self-design), a Marx-inspired, anti-industrial, do-it-yourself handbook for the everyday person to use to build furniture without the assistance of a glitzy designer or knowledge of complex joinery. Mari’s intent with the publication was to remove the alienation of the creator and manufacturer from the end product by teaching anyone to develop a critical eye for production.

Artek relaunched kits based on the blueprints in the manual in an exhibition at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in 2010. The subsequent collectability of his work was reportedly irksome for Mari because he abhorred the industrial production for which he was becoming known.

Mari’s meager upbringing heavily influenced his politics, and even in childhood, he would come up with ingenious ways to support the family financially. As a designer, the desire to envision and build significant pieces was more important to Mari than devising new marketing and retail sales tactics. He optimistically believed objects could change the world. This view went against the rising consumer mania for every next trend that surfaced in the late 20th century. Not surprisingly, his ecological and economical stance led him to produce fewer objects.

Mari's philosophy did not stop people from desiring his creations, nor prevent other designers from wanting to collaborate with him. Following World War II, he worked for companies like Danese, Olivetti, Artemide, Driade and Alessi, who brought his prodigious designs to the public, and Mari’s work was widely celebrated. 

The Golden Compass, Italy's highest honor for industrial design, was awarded to Mari four times before he died from COVID in 2020, and New York’s Museum of Modern Art has a permanent collection of his objects on display.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Enzo Mari decorative objects, folk art and serveware.

to
4
5
4
1
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
1
1
4
1
1
4
4
4
4
3
5
5
5
1
1
108
334
316
204
186
Creator: Enzo Mari
"Elisa" Indoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
"Elisa" Indoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

"Elisa" Indoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Elisa" is a three-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel finished in black-brown epoxy paint, cushions in polyurethane foam...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974
Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974

Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974

By Driade, Enzo Mari

Located in Brussels, BE

Mid-Century Modern Gambadilegno Sofa by Enzo Mari for Driade, Italy, 1974 Enzo Mari (born April 27, 1932, in Novara, Italy–died October 19, 2020) was a noted Italian post-Modernist ...

Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Wood

"Elisa" Outdoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
"Elisa" Outdoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

"Elisa" Outdoor Three-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

By Driade, Enzo Mari

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Elisa" is an outdoor three-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

"Elisa" Outdoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
"Elisa" Outdoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

"Elisa" Outdoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Elisa" is an outdoor two-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black-b...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

"Elisa" Indoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
"Elisa" Indoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

"Elisa" Indoor Two-Seat Sofa Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Elisa" is a two-seat sofa, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel finished in black-brown epoxy paint, cushions in polyurethane foam o...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

Related Items
2000s Royalton Two-Seater Sofa by Philippe Starck for Driade in Fabric
2000s Royalton Two-Seater Sofa by Philippe Starck for Driade in Fabric

2000s Royalton Two-Seater Sofa by Philippe Starck for Driade in Fabric

By Philippe Starck

Located in Philadelphia, PA

This is a Royalton Sofa, designed by Philippe Starck and produced by Driade shortly after the design's introduction in 1988. In the late 1980s, Starck was approached by hotelier Ian ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel, Aluminum

Nautil Two Seater Sofa by Cedric Ragot for Roche Bobois
Nautil Two Seater Sofa by Cedric Ragot for Roche Bobois

Nautil Two Seater Sofa by Cedric Ragot for Roche Bobois

$4,450

H 30.375 in W 106.25 in D 37.375 in

Nautil Two Seater Sofa by Cedric Ragot for Roche Bobois

By Roche Bobois, Cedric Ragot

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Designed by acclaimed French industrial designer Cédric Ragot for Roche Bobois in 2013, this sculptural three-seater sofa blends contemporary form with luxurious materials. Known for...

Category

2010s French Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Leather, Fabric

"Elisa" Outdoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade
"Elisa" Outdoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

"Elisa" Outdoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

$4,226Sale Price / item|20% Off

H 32.6 in W 36.6 in D 31.5 in

"Elisa" Outdoor Armchair Designed by Enzo Mari for Driade

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Elisa" is an outdoor armchair, designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, featuring a structure made of steel with protective cataphoresis treatment, finished in black-brown ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

Rudolph Outdoor Three-Seater Sofa by Vincent Van Duysen for Serax
Rudolph Outdoor Three-Seater Sofa by Vincent Van Duysen for Serax

Rudolph Outdoor Three-Seater Sofa by Vincent Van Duysen for Serax

$17,503 / item

H 27.96 in W 109.85 in D 44.1 in

Rudolph Outdoor Three-Seater Sofa by Vincent Van Duysen for Serax

By Vincent Van Duysen

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Architect Vincent Van Duysen in a collaboration with Belgium-based Serax has designed a sofa line embodying the essence of his "warm minimalist" aesthetic. Dubbed Rudolph, in homage...

Category

2010s Belgian Minimalist Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Aluminum

Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in blue for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995
Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in blue for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995

Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in blue for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995

By Driade, Enzo Mari

Located in Skokie, IL

Enzo Mari NOS model "Box chair" in blue manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade), Italy, 1995 The Enzo Mari NOS model "The Box" chair, manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade) in It...

Category

1990s Italian Post-Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

"Tokyo-Pop" White or Black Monobloc Sofa Designed by T. Yoshioka for Driade
"Tokyo-Pop" White or Black Monobloc Sofa Designed by T. Yoshioka for Driade

"Tokyo-Pop" White or Black Monobloc Sofa Designed by T. Yoshioka for Driade

$1,404Sale Price / item|20% Off

H 29.7 in W 69.6 in D 30.7 in

"Tokyo-Pop" White or Black Monobloc Sofa Designed by T. Yoshioka for Driade

By Driade, Tokujin Yoshioka

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"Tokyo-Pop" is a white or black anthracite polyethylene monobloc iconic sofa, designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and manufactured by Driade. White version only is available in quick ship. Indoor and outdoor use. DIMENSIONS: D. 30.7", W. 69.5", H. 29.7", Seat H. 16.5" Tokyo-Pop collection was Tokujin Yoshioka's debut on the international design scene in 2002. Now he's considered as one of the masters of contemporary design. With his set of sofa, armchair and especially chaise longue and stool he seems to ignore the trivial qualities of rotational plastic molding and turn them into real sculptures featuring unforgettable and unusual forms. TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA, born in Japan in 1967 and winner of many awards, with pieces on display at the MoMA and the Cooper Hewitt in New York, the Victoria & Albert in London and the Vitra Design Museum, trained along with Shiro Kuramata and Issey Miyake, opened his own studio in 2000, and has worked with Japanese and international companies such as Hermès, Toyota, BMW and Swarovski, designing showrooms and installations. As a result of the success of the Honey-pop paper chair in 2001, he began establishing increasingly close links with the world of interior design, developing projects for Driade, Moroso and Kartell, amongst the others. The main feature of his creations is their poetic, light, dreamlike quality. His products, interiors and installations are the result of painstaking, complex research carried out on simple materials, combined with experimental technology. The awards he won include Design Miami...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Plastic

"MT2" Sculptural Monobloc Sofa Designed by Ron Arad for Driade
"MT2" Sculptural Monobloc Sofa Designed by Ron Arad for Driade

"MT2" Sculptural Monobloc Sofa Designed by Ron Arad for Driade

$1,764Sale Price / item|20% Off

H 33.4 in W 70.8 in D 33.6 in

"MT2" Sculptural Monobloc Sofa Designed by Ron Arad for Driade

By Driade, Ron Arad

Located in Brooklyn, NY

"MT2" is an iconic sculptural polyethylene monobloc sofa, designed by Ron Arad and manufactured by Driade, sand white colored outside and red, lilac, black or violet colored inside. ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Plastic

Three Seater Sofa by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy
Three Seater Sofa by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy

Three Seater Sofa by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy

$3,348

H 35.44 in W 96.46 in D 34.65 in

Three Seater Sofa by Tobia Scarpa for B&B, Italy

By Tobia Scarpa, B&B Italia

Located in Barcelona, ES

Three seater Coronado sofa designed in 1966 by Tobia Scarpa for B & B Italia. Upholstered in original black leather.

Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Metal

Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in orange for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995
Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in orange for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995

Enzo Mari NOS The Box chair in orange for Aleph Atlantide Driade 1995

By Driade, Enzo Mari

Located in Skokie, IL

Enzo Mari NOS model "Box chair" in orange manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade), Italy, 1995 The Enzo Mari NOS model "The Box" chair, manufactured by Aleph Atlantide (Driade) in ...

Category

1990s Italian Post-Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

Italian Design Three Seats Upholstered Sofa Contemporary Production
Italian Design Three Seats Upholstered Sofa Contemporary Production

Italian Design Three Seats Upholstered Sofa Contemporary Production

By DD Dimore

Located in Brescia, IT

This very comfortable sofa, in camel color, has a large and deep seat, with a taut backrest that becomes soft with the smooth five pillows on it, in linen and silk fabric. The large...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Roly Poly Sofa Concrete By Driade
Roly Poly Sofa Concrete By Driade

Roly Poly Sofa Concrete By Driade

$1,395

H 24.81 in W 24.41 in D 68.9 in

Roly Poly Sofa Concrete By Driade

By Driade

Located in Beverly Hills, CA

Considered a classic of contemporary design, this sofa was designed by Faye Toogood, becoming an instant hit with the modern furniture realm. Perfect for those looking to make a statement in their interior or exterior spaces, the Roly Poly Sofa...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Plastic

Enzo Mari Driade Sof Sof Chair in Graphite Gray, 1972
Enzo Mari Driade Sof Sof Chair in Graphite Gray, 1972

Enzo Mari Driade Sof Sof Chair in Graphite Gray, 1972

$1,432Sale Price / item|20% Off

H 35.4 in W 18.1 in D 22.4 in

Enzo Mari Driade Sof Sof Chair in Graphite Gray, 1972

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Made by Driade in 1972, Sof Sof reflects the essential elegance of the design by Enzo Mari. Structure made of steel rod finished in graphite gray color epoxy p...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Steel

Previously Available Items
ENZO MARI  Sheep model sofa  Driade production 1979
ENZO MARI  Sheep model sofa  Driade production 1979

ENZO MARI Sheep model sofa Driade production 1979

Sold

H 25.6 in W 59.06 in D 31.5 in

ENZO MARI Sheep model sofa Driade production 1979

By Enzo Mari

Located in Vigevano, PV

Sheep model sofa. Turned wood, padded fabric. Driade production 1979. G. Gramigna, 'Repertoire 1950-1980,' Mondadori, 1985, p. 467.

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Wood

ENZO MARI  Sheep model sofa  Driade production 1979
ENZO MARI  Sheep model sofa  Driade production 1979

ENZO MARI Sheep model sofa Driade production 1979

Sold

H 25.6 in W 80.71 in D 31.5 in

ENZO MARI Sheep model sofa Driade production 1979

By Enzo Mari

Located in Vigevano, PV

Sheep model sofa. Turned wood, padded fabric. Driade production 1979. G. Gramigna, 'Repertoire 1950-1980,' Mondadori, 1985, p. 467.

Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Enzo Mari Gambadilegno Sofas Driade, Italy, 1974
Enzo Mari Gambadilegno Sofas Driade, Italy, 1974

Enzo Mari Gambadilegno Sofas Driade, Italy, 1974

Sold

H 27.56 in W 82.68 in D 37.41 in

Enzo Mari Gambadilegno Sofas Driade, Italy, 1974

By Enzo Mari, Driade

Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant

Playful and cosy Gambadilegno sofa's designed by Enzo Mari and manufactured by Driade, Italy 1974. These sofa's were made in very small production only and makes these very difficult...

Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Enzo Mari Sofas

Materials

Fabric, Pine

Enzo Mari sofas for sale on 1stDibs.

Enzo Mari sofas are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of steel and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Enzo Mari sofas, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 2 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 4 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original sofas by Enzo Mari were created in the modern style in italy during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider sofas by Officina Ciani, Kemistry of Style, and Marco Corti. Prices for Enzo Mari sofas can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $3,843 and can go as high as $10,010, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $6,800.