An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre.
In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
Ponti's signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.)
Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph, which was written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of vintage Gio Ponti desks, dining chairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$3,760Sale Price|20% Off
Mid-Century Modern Ninfea Folding Side Chair by Gio Ponti, Italy
By Gio Ponti
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A light-brown, vintage Mid-Century Modern Italian Ninfea folding side chair made of hand crafted polished Walnut, designed by Gio Ponti, in good condition. The seat backrest of singl...
Leather, Walnut
Italian Brass Side Chair style of Gio Ponti Mid Century Modern
By Gio Ponti
Located in New York, NY
Italian sculptural brass chair with a loose cushioned seat. Spindle back with curved arms. Very well made and unique. Style of Gio Ponti. The brass frame has a nice patina.
Brass
"Fireside" Chair by Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardino, Italy, 1930s
By Casa e Giardino, Gio Ponti
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Fireside" Chair Gio Ponti Manufactured for Casa E Giardino Milan, Italy 1930's Rush Seat with Oak of Beech Wood Frame. "Chair is in good "original" as foundation condition. Chair...
Rush, Hardwood
$450
H 30.5 in W 17.75 in D 22.5 in
Mid-Century Saarinen Style Dining or Cocktail Chair in Light Teal Velvet
By Eero Saarinen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mid-Century dining or cocktail chair. Designed in a style that's very reminiscent of Finnish designing great Eero Saarinen. The chair has handsomely tapered blonde wood legs and has ...
Upholstery, Wood
$6,950Sale Price|26% Off
H 32 in W 25 in D 29 in
Alan Siegel Post-Modern Craftsman 'Tongue' Chair, Signed & Dated 1981
By Alan Siegel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This work of Post-Modern functional art is called the 'Tongue' chair by artist and sculptor Alan Siegel, exhibited in 1981 at the Betsy Rosenfield Gallery in Chicago. Signed and dated (1981) by the artist underneath the seat. Carved from Maple and Black Walnut, this gorgeous piece of art is something unique, fun and whimsical, and ideal for art and design collectors and investors. This incredible chair, which in of itself is a sculpture of collectible fine art, was designed as a figural man's head where the backrest is comprised of the hair and eyes along with a sculpted nose, teeth and mustache. The tongue makes the seat and below that for the legs of the chair is the beard and chin. Other Alan Siegel chairs were present in the exhibition such as the 'Smiling Bandit' chair and 'Laughing Bandit' chair which were also carved from Maple and Black Walnut. Ideal for Modern and Post-Modern homes, also consider for Mid-Century Modern, Contemporary, Transitional and Mixed-styled rooms. Works great as a side chair, hallway chair, entryway chair, occasional chair, captains chair for a dining table or game table, reading chair or fireside chair, or office desk or guest chair. ARTIST EXHIBITIONS: 2017 Galeria Nudo, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 2013 Kleinart James Gallery, Woodstock, NY 2013 Galeria Manuel Chacon, Fabrica La Aurora, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 2011 Galeria Atelier, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 2004 Galeria le Noir, Mexico 2002 Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY 2001 Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY 2000 Elena Zang Gallery, Woodstock (Shady), NY Nancy Hoffman...
Wood
$3,294
H 27.96 in W 25.99 in D 18.12 in
Vintage Folding Chair Ninfea by Gio Ponti for Reguitti, Italy, 1958
By Gio Ponti
Located in Roma, IT
Vintage folding chair Ninfea by Gio Ponti for Reguitti, Italy 1958. Dimensions: Width 48 cm - Depth 66 cm - Height 71 cm - Seat height 33 cm. ...
Brass
19th Century Moorish Egyptian Pearl Inlaid Folding Chair
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Antique Middle Eastern Moorish walnut wood folding chair with intricate foliate carving and mother of pearl, shell inlays. Moroccan Moorish style folding chair inlaid with mother of...
Wood
$4,669 / item
H 35.44 in W 18.9 in D 18.9 in
Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Chairs, Gio Ponti atributed, Pink Maple Wood
By Gio Ponti
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Italian Mid-Century Modern side chairs, Gio Ponti atributed, pink maple wood, lacquered, restored, polished with oil and new upholstered with Wharol Haring fabric. Excellent conditi...
Wood
$3,979
H 33.47 in W 22.45 in D 20.87 in
Mid-Century Modern Gio Ponti Attributed Armchair, Walnut, Restored, Finished Wax
By Gio Ponti
Located in Vigonza, Padua
Mid-Century Modern Gio Ponti attributed armchair, walnut, restored, finished to wax. New upholstered with Wharol Haring fabric. Excellent conditions. Measures cm: H 85/48, W 57, D 53.
Walnut
Ponti Inspired Vintage Italian Side chairs, Pair
By Gio Ponti
Located in North Miami, FL
Finished in a fine deep brown lacquer, the scalloped backrest and turned legs are in wonderful restored condition. Calfskin leather is beige on seat.
Leather, Walnut
$1,404 / item
H 33.47 in W 19.69 in D 20.48 in
Gio Ponti Leggera Armchair or Side Chair by Cassina in different colors
By Gio Ponti, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Prices are dependent on the chosen material and model. Available with or without armrests. Frame, Seat and Coating and upholstery of the chair can be customized, please get in touch....
Upholstery, Wood
$3,375Sale Price|25% Off
H 27.25 in W 20.5 in D 20 in
Allan Gould Sculptural Compass Side Chair Black Wood, Tan Upholstery 1948 USA
By Herman Miller, Allan Gould
Located in North Miami, FL
This architectural and fully restored side chair that was called the compass chair was designed by Allan Gould in 1948 and produced by Herman Miller It is model #4171 and was conside...
Upholstery, Wood
Moorish Moroccan 19th Century Folding Chair Inlaid
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Antique Middle Eastern Moorish walnut wood folding chair with intricate foliate carving and mother of pearl, shell inlays. Moroccan Moorish style folding chair inlaid with mother of...
Wood
Sold
H 41.34 in W 24.81 in D 29.93 in
Triennale Armchairs by Gio Ponti for Isa Bergamo, Original Label
By ISA Bergamo, Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
This rare and magnificent pair of chairs, also known as the "TRIENNALE", were designed by the great designer Gio Ponti in 1951. The chairs have their original label from the ISA Bergamo manufacture and are the 1st edition. The chairs have been examined and checked. Their burnt orange corduroy fabric is original from the period, in its first patina. Indeed, we can notice slight discolorations in the fabric. Its sculptural and organic shapes give power to the seat and, through its almost suspended lines, give lightness to the structure. The wooden structure is in its first patina, indeed we can notice slight signs of time and its wear. In designing the armchair model for ISA Bergamo, Gio Ponti deconstructed the traditional wingback chair...
Brass
Gio Ponti Pair of Armchairs for Casa E Giardino in White Fabric
By Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
Pair of armchairs by Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardini from the 1940s. The pair of armchairs are in Italian white cotton fabric. Its shape seems to resemble a shell where its back pleas...
Fabric, Wood
Sold
H 30.32 in W 35.44 in D 39.38 in
Pair of Midcentury Armchairs by Gio Ponti in Orange Original Velvet, 1930s
By Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
Elegant pair of 1930s armchairs designed by designer Gio Ponti for "Casa Laporte" Milan 1936. Warning: The pair is in its original state, its upholstery is also original of the perio...
Velvet, Wood
Sold
H 29.53 in W 32.29 in D 31.5 in
Gio Ponti Pair of Midcentury Armchairs for "Casa e Giardino" in White Sheepskin
By Gio Ponti
Located in Milano, IT
Pair of midcentury Italian armchairs designed by Gio Ponti for "Case e Giardino" of 1950. The armchairs have been upholstered in real soft white sheep hair. Walnut feet. The armchai...
Sheepskin, Walnut
Walnut Ladderback Chair by Gio Ponti for Casa e Giardino, Italy
By Gio Ponti, Casa e Giardino
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
1930s. This fireside chair features a walnut frame and a rush seat. It is vintage, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but it can be considered as in very good original con...
Rush, Walnut