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Giovanni Offredi Cabinets

Italian, 1927-2007

Of his mid-century modern furniture designs, which marry minimalist simplicity with elegance and symmetry, Italian designer Giovanni Offredi once said: “Beauty should not be confused with appearance, since the latter is the superficial part of the form.”   

Born in Milan, in 1927, Offredi did not pursue formal education as an architect, unlike many of his contemporaries in the first half of the 20th century. He also did not begin designing furniture until later in his career. His earliest known furnishings were commissioned by wealthy Milanese families in 1960.

It wasn’t until the late 1960s — when Offredi met Sergio Saporiti, owner of Italian furniture manufacturer and design shop Saporiti — that his furniture designs would become more prominent. In 1970, Offredi entered into a partnership with Saporiti, producing several innovative and modernistic furniture lines. 

Among Offredi’s most notable pieces are the gently curving Wave chair, sofa and lounge chair, the Onda coffee table and the Paracarro dining room table, with its cylindrical concrete base, glass top and metal cross section. He also designed a series of credenzas and sideboards in lacquered wood, featuring a high gloss finish and bold colors.

Offredi enjoyed a successful collaboration with Saporiti throughout the 1970s. In 1984, he began a partnership with Italian cabinet and kitchen manufacturer Snaidero, designing modern kitchens. His final kitchen design, Kube, in 2006, featured streamlined forms, contrasting materials and colors and a recessed aluminum toe kick with a reflective mirror finish, which made the kitchen appear suspended above the ground. The kitchen won a Good Design Award from the Chicago Design Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, in 2008. Offredi never had the opportunity to accept that prize — he died in 2007.

Although Offredi’s works are relatively obscure, they are sought out by in-the-know furniture collectors and enthusiasts worldwide. 

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Giovanni Offredi chairs, tables, case pieces and storage cabinets.

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Creator: Giovanni Offredi
Sideboard Model "Birds-Eye" in Maple by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, 1970s
By Giovanni Offredi, Saporiti
Located in Hellouw, NL
Saporiti's darling Giovanni Offredi showed with this 1970s sideboard from the 'Birds-Eye' series that he remained true to his modernist view on design. As a great critic of the rise ...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Offredi Cabinets

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Previously Available Items
Vintage Italian Geometric Dry Bar by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti, Italy
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This exceptional and very rare Italian dry bar, cocktail cabinet, designed by Giovanni Offredi one of the most discreet but among the most ingenious designers who created for the Italian manufacturer Saporiti. This design comprises a cylinder with a part of the body in black sheathed leather and the other part of the body that represents the door, is in wood forming abstract geometric shapes in wood veneered with bird's eye maple in warm tones, the interior is completed by two circular glass shelves. More than a piece of furniture, this stunning piece is a sculpture, like a TOTEM, it is topped with a turntable that can allow you to put glasses, the time to serve your guests. Make sure this eye-catching dry bar t is as useful as it is stylish and will pair with antique pieces, Art Deco or contemporary interiors. Unfortunately the photos do not do enough justice, do not hesitate to ask for more or a video. Giovanni Offredi confesses about the design: "What worries me most, when I consider a topic, is not so much the evaluation of its epidermal appearance, but its intimate essence," offers. “In the field of furniture, it is unfortunately difficult to find clients willing to carry out too innovative experiments. Furniture is in fact an asset that must last over time without exceeding certain costs. More advanced innovations can be found more easily in the objects sector”. "Italian design, which has always drawn its success from the balance between rationality and fantasy, seems to have lost this harmony. The craving for the new has created confusion. Some are caught up in forced attempts, thinking of finding space in the market and achieving success. The Postmodern, born as an act of controversy against certain rationalist positions, fossilized over time, and then established itself for the desire to renew certain forms, freeing them from their rigidity, has been transforming up to identify with the search for novelty at all costs. However, the Post Modern failed to go beyond the surface, it failed to give content to its forms. Here then we no longer have to deal with a cultural fact, but with a fact of fashion and beyond rationality there is only passion, the ephemeral, the passenger ". "The object must find its reason for utility in beauty; but, only if you can give the external aspect a content and an expressive meaning, the result can be said to be valid. I consider giving shape to an object as an attempt to obtain the image of its deepest reason. And we must not confuse beauty with appearance, since the latter is the superficial part of the form. Beauty will be greater the more it emerges of its substance. In essence, I want to make those objects that I try to create live out of their own life”. "Among the thousands of possible forms, one is chosen, the most significant of the particular cultural moment that is in us, and which is dependent on the intensity and richness of the knowledge that presses us to come to life; therefore design will never be fashionable, since this is only the ephemeral passion of its time "."The object must find its reason for utility in beauty; but, only if you can give the external aspect a content and an expressive meaning, the result can be said to be valid. I consider giving shape to an object as an attempt to obtain the image of its deepest reason. And we must not confuse beauty with appearance, since the latter is the superficial part of the form. Beauty will be greater the more it emerges of its substance. In essence, I want to make those objects that I try to create live out of their own life”. "Among the thousands of possible forms, one is chosen, the most significant of the particular cultural moment that is in us, and which is dependent on the intensity and richness of the knowledge that presses us to come to life; therefore design will never be fashionable, since this is only the ephemeral passion of its time ". Over the years, the Milanese designer Giovanni Offredi (1927-2007) has ranged from the design of furniture to lamps, from kitchens to telephones, from furnishing accessories to televisions. Since 1950, Saporiti Italia produces some of the most sophisticated and advanced pieces of furniture of the history of Italian design. Between 1970-1980 Giovanni Offredi had a big success with his innovative design for example the Wave sofa represents the peak of the Saporiti international success. Its purity of lines and its extra-large proportions, result in an incredible attraction for Saporiti’s international markets. There is a leit motiv...
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Giovanni Offredi cabinets for sale on 1stDibs.

Giovanni Offredi cabinets are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Giovanni Offredi cabinets, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original cabinets by Giovanni Offredi were created in the mid-century modern style in italy during the late 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider cabinets by Vittorio Introini, Saporiti Italia, and Afra & Tobia Scarpa. Prices for Giovanni Offredi cabinets can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,800 and can go as high as $13,359, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $5,282.

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