Italian sculptor, furniture designer and maestro d’arte e mestiere (master of art and craft) Giuseppe Rivadossi is considered one of the 20th century’s leading woodworkers. His hand-carved, mid-century modern furniture has been described as poetic, ancient, ethereal and soulful.
Rivadossi was born in 1935 in Monteclana di Nave, where he still lives and works today. He began woodworking at an early age, learning the craft from his father, who founded a carpentry business in 1920. In 1962, Rivadossi took over his father’s workshop and transformed it into an artistic atelier, creating sculptural furniture and objets d’art.
Toward the late 1960s, Rivadossi’s friends and fellow woodworking artists encouraged him to exhibit his wooden sculptures at shows throughout Italy. In 1968, he participated in his first sculpture exhibition, which led to others throughout the 1970s, such as the Triennale di Milano in 1974 and the Biennale di Mentone in 1976. That same year, Rivadossi and several collaborators established Officina Rivadossi, which specialized in wooden objects, sculptures and modern furniture. Pieces included walnut dining room tables, oak sideboards and architectonic dining chairs and armchairs suitable for the home or office.
From the 1980s through the 2000s, Rivadossi’s designs took on a more organic, architectural approach. For instance, his Custodia Lombarda cabinet comprises two doors with hand-carved latticework that gradually reduces size. His decorative boxes with grooved textures, geometric patterns and curved forms also double as desktop sculptures.
In 2013, Officina Rivadossi evolved to become Habito di Giuseppe Rivadossi, which Rivadossi runs with his two sons Emanuele and Clemente. Since then, the furniture firm has shown at numerous exhibitions, including Salone del Mobile di Milano, the London Design Festival, PAD Paris and BRAFA Art Fair, in Brussels. Also, in 2018, Rivadossi received the prestigious Maestro d’Arte e Mestiere award at the Triennale di Milano.
On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage and contemporary Giuseppe Rivadossi case pieces, tables and decorative objects.
Giuseppe Rivadossi for Officina Rivadossi Rare Bench in Oak
By Officina Rivadossi, Giuseppe Rivadossi
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Giuseppe Rivadossi for Officina Rivadossi, bench, oak, Italy, design 1980s This lovely bench is a design by Giuseppe Rivadossi. The material used to make this piece is oak, which sh...
Oak
$1,401 / item
H 13.78 in W 39.38 in D 13.78 in
Vodo bench, in oak and metal, by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum
By Mauro Accardi & Silvia Buccheri
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Vodo is a line of furniture redefining internal landscapes. Objects made of bent sheets of metal, recalling voids like windows opened towards inhabited spaces, sculptures that become a bench, a bookcase, a bedside table or a consolle. Elementary forms inspired by architectural shapes...
Sheet Metal
$1,275 / item
H 13.78 in W 39.38 in D 13.78 in
Vodo bench, in oak and metal, by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum
By Mauro Accardi & Silvia Buccheri
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Vodo is a collection made up of folded sheet metal structures and solid wood shelves fixed by a joint. Whether it is our bench, stool, console or bookcase, Vodo will be perfect for any environment thanks to its clean line and lightness. Vodo is a line of furniture redefining internal landscapes. Objects made of bent sheets of metal, recalling voids like windows opened towards inhabited spaces...
Sheet Metal
Foot Bench in Oak
By Project 213A
Located in Macieira de Sarnes, PT
This playful design is part of Project 213A's hand carved wooden "foot series"; inspired by a classic milking stool, this bench comes with three foot shaped legs and one uneven leg. ...
Chestnut, Oak
$1,401 / item
H 13.78 in W 39.38 in D 13.78 in
Vodo bench, in oak and metal, by Accardi Buccheri for Medulum
By Mauro Accardi & Silvia Buccheri
Located in Meolo, Venezia
Vodo is a line of furniture redefining internal landscapes. Objects made of bent sheets of metal, recalling voids like windows opened towards inhabited spaces, sculptures that become a bench, a bookcase, a bedside table or a consolle. Elementary forms inspired by architectural shapes...
Sheet Metal
Tea Bench in White Oak
By Greg Mitchell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A simple, meditative form for clean living and clear thinking. The tea bench is humble, yet sophisticated with wedged through tenons, a hand shaved stretcher joining the legs, and a subtle under bevel on the seat. It is made from carefully chosen, sustainably sourced wood; each board selected for its clarity and straightness of grain. The select lumber is milled with machines, then the joinery...
Oak, Walnut
Matthias Biberon Bench in Oak
By Matthias Biberon
Located in Santa Gertrudis, Baleares
Matthias Biberon (Paris, 1977) lives and works in Perche (Normandy / France). He began working with wood in 2019, leaving behind photography and ceramics, which he had practiced successfully for many years. In wood, he finds the pleasure of imagining shapes and building them, with a combination of both naivety and attention to detail, and a freedom that neither conceptualism nor ceramics had given him. His furniture is organic, respecting the original shape of the wood and following its knots and veins. The search for balance and precision is one of the cornerstones of Matthias's work. Carefully sourced, the wood types used - Oak, Elm, Cedar, Walnut - have been dried for decades, giving them an unrivalled patina. His trademark? Visible construction and the blending of materials, with stone a natural addition to his creations; for each of them, he seeks a form of balance, purity and softness, a functionality that is both poetic and sculptural, the simplicity and force of a haiku. Passionate about art, it was while progressing towards Arts & Crafts that he embraced the aesthetics of functionalism, Mingeï and the thinking of William Morris. He is sensitive to the Arte Povera of Jannis Kounellis and Giovanni Anselmo, the Zen influence of John Cage, the freedom of Don Cherry...
Oak
Bench in Solid Oak, Tokyo, by Yngvar Sandström for NK, Sweden
By NK (Nordiska Kompaniet), Yngvar Sandström
Located in Goteborg, SE
Tokyo, a bench in massive oak for sitting or for using as a table. Made by NK (Nordiska Kompaniet), the leading warehouse in Stockholm. Designed by Yngvar Sandström and part of a se...
Oak
Santa Rosa Bench in White Oak
By Greg Mitchell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The Santa Rosa bench is a simple piece of seating for the well appointed interior. Its clean lines, hand turned base, and wedged through tenons amount to a design that is at home in ...
Oak, Walnut
$5,683 / set
H 31.5 in W 28.75 in D 31.5 in
Set of Two Armchairs by Giuseppe Rivadossi in Leather and Slavonian Oak
By Giuseppe Rivadossi
Located in Hellouw, NL
These exquisite armchairs, crafted by the renowned Italian designer Giuseppe Rivadossi in the late 1960s, exemplify mid-century elegance with a distinct artisanal touch. Made from hi...
Leather, Oak
Odyssey Bench in White Oak
By Stamford Modern
Located in Westport, CT
Introducing the Odyssey Bench by Stamford Modern, a captivating fusion of sculptural artistry and impeccable craftsmanship. Constructed from solid oak or...
Twill, Oak
Comacina Armchair by Giuseppe Rivadossi
By Giuseppe Rivadossi
Located in Milan, IT
A testament to contemporary sculptural design, this armchair boasts a monolithic silhouette made of vertical wooden fibers, chiseled and finished by hand with a planer. Displaying a ...
Wood
$5,412 / set
H 18.9 in W 20.87 in D 14.18 in
Giuseppe Rivadossi Set of Two Stools in Oak Wood by Officina Rivadossi 1970s
By Giuseppe Rivadossi, Officina Rivadossi
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Set of two stools in oak wood designed by Giuseppe Rivadossi for Officina Rivadossi, 1970ca. These rare stools have a peculiar structure with visible interlocks that join each compo...
Oak
Bench Midcentury in Rosewood by Giuseppe Rivadossi, 1940s
By Giuseppe Rivadossi
Located in Milano, IT
Rare bench created by Giuseppe Rivadossi, great Italian sculptor and designer. Its specialisation is the skilful working of wood. The bench is made of rosewood. Made up of two side b...
Rosewood