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Joe Colombo Chairs

Italian, 1930-1971

He died tragically young, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. But through the 1960s, Joe Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, the creations of Joe Colombo have the power to surprise.

Cesare “Joe” Colombo was born in Milan, the son of an electrical-components manufacturer. He was a creative child — he loved to build huge structures from Meccano pieces — and in college he studied painting and sculpture before switching to architecture.

In the early 1950s, Colombo made and exhibited paintings and sculptures as part of an art movement that responded to the new Nuclear Age, and futuristic thinking would inform his entire career. He took up design not long after his father fell ill in 1958, and he and his brother, Gianni, were called upon to run the family company.

Colombo expanded the business to include the making of plastics — a primary material in almost all his later designs. One of his first, made in collaboration with his brother, was the Acrilica table lamp (1962), composed of a wave-shaped piece of clear acrylic resin that diffused light cast by a bulb concealed in the lamp’s metal base. A year later, Colombo produced his best-known furniture design, the Elda armchair (1963): a modernist wingback chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather pads. 

Portability and adaptability were keynotes of many Colombo designs, made for a more mobile society in which people would take their living environments with them. One of his most striking pieces is the Tube chair (1969). It comprises four foam-padded plastic cylinders that fit inside one another. The components, which are held together by metal clips, can be configured in a variety of seating shapes (his Additional Living System seating is similarly versatile).

Vintage Tube chairs generally sell for about $9,000 in good condition; Elda chairs for about $7,000. A small Colombo design such as the plastic Boby trolley — an office organizer on wheels, designed in 1970 — is priced in the range of $700.

As Colombo intended, his designs are best suited to a modern decor. If your tastes run to sleek, glossy Space Age looks, the work of Joe Colombo offers you a myriad of choices.

Find vintage Joe Colombo lamps, seating and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

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Creator: Joe Colombo
4867 chair set, Joe Colombo for Kartell
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Neuss, NW
4867 chair set by Joe Colombo for Kartell from 1979. High quality red polycarbonate injection moulding frame. The offer includes 5 stackable chairs. Quality Features: very good...
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Plastic

Joe Colombo Chair 300 for Karakter
By Joe Colombo
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Joe Colombo Chair 300 for Karakter Designed by the forward-thinking Italian designer Joe Colombo, Chair 300 is a beautiful example of his funct...
Category

2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Wood

Set of Four Joe Colombo 'Chair 300' Wood and Kvadrat Fabric by Karakter
By Joe Colombo
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Chair designed by Joe Colombo in 1965. Designed by the forward-thinking Italian designer Joe Colombo, Chair 300 is a beautiful example of his functional design sensibility. Uphol...
Category

2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Set of Four Joe Colombo 'Chair 300' by Karakter
By Joe Colombo
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Chair designed by Joe Colombo in 1965. Designed by the forward-thinking Italian designer Joe Colombo, Chair 300 is a beautiful example of his functional design sensibility. Uphol...
Category

2010s Danish Mid-Century Modern Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Wood

Vintage '300' chairs by Joe Colombo for Pozzi Milano, 1966
By Pozzi, Joe Colombo
Located in Premariacco, IT
Set of four black lacquered wood chairs with gray fabric seat and back, designed by Joe Colombo in 1966 for Pozzi Milano. Domus 521 on page d/578. Repertoire 1950-2000 Allemandi on ...
Category

1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Mid-Century Modern Italian Set of Four Dining Chairs in the Style of Joe Colombo
By Joe Colombo
Located in Prato, IT
Mid-Century Modern Italian set of four mahogany dining chairs in the style of Joe Colombo with original velvet fabric, 1970s.
Category

1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Velvet, Mahogany

set of 6 chairs "Universal" Kartel designed by Joe Colombo - 1967
By Kartell, Joe Colombo
Located in Milano, MI
Kartell's 4867 are chairs designed by Joe Colombo in the late 1960s. From the space age flavor have numerous design tricks such as the leg cylinder cut in half to make them fit snug...
Category

Late 20th Century Joe Colombo Chairs

Materials

Plastic

Joe Colombo chairs for sale on 1stDibs.

Joe Colombo chairs 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 Joe Colombo chairs, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 17 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 62 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original chairs by Joe Colombo were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider chairs by Fredericia, Børge Mogensen, and Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel. Prices for Joe Colombo chairs can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $610 and can go as high as $22,352, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,216.
Questions About Joe Colombo Chairs
  • 1stDibs ExpertJanuary 19, 2025
    Joe Colombo is famous for his career as a designer. He died young, at 41 in 1971, and his career as a designer lasted little more than 10 years. Through the 1960s, Colombo proved himself one of the field’s most provocative and original thinkers, and he produced a remarkably large array of innovative chairs, table lamps and other lighting and furniture as well as product designs. Even today, his creations have the power to surprise. Shop a selection of Joe Colombo furniture on 1stDibs.

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