In his role as art director and furniture designer for Italian furniture brand Giorgetti, architect, educator and painter Massimo Scolari spent over a decade producing so many imaginative, sculptural postmodern pieces that it’s easy to lose count. The Novi Ligure native has always had an eye for good design — he is an equally acclaimed painter with works in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and has taught at Harvard University, Cornell University and the University of Cambridge.
In 1969, Scolari completed his studies in architecture and became a professor in 1973. He taught architecture history in Palermo and drawing at Venice’s Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia. From 1975 onward, Scolari was a visiting professor at many of the world’s top universities for nearly three decades while creating numerous installations for the La Biennale di Venezia and Milan Triennial.
Among Scolari’s notable furniture designs are the solid beechwood Spring swivel armchair, which is characterized by organic curves and has a backrest that features ebony insets, as well as the Erasmo and Zeno writing desks. Each piece offers innovative flourishes — the hidden spring in his armchair allows the sitter to lean back comfortably, which lends an unusual level of flexibility to the modern wooden seat, while his sleek writing desks are often outfitted with hidden drawers or secret pull-out compartments.
Scolari has exhibited across the United States. and Europe as well as in Russia and Japan. A retrospective of his work that featured over 100 paintings, drawings and architectural models was staged at the Cooper Union in 2012. For his distinct and creative contributions to architecture, Scolari was awarded the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in 2014.
Find vintage Massimo Scolari lighting, tables and seating on 1stDibs.
Gateano Scolari Stilnovo Italian Floor Lamp from the 50s
By Massimo Scolari, Stilnovo
Located in Wolfurt, AT
Italian floor lamp from the 50s. Stilnovo Model "4013", designed by GateanoScolari. There are two light switches on the lamp, one of which can turn...
Marble, Brass
Rare Floor Lamp by Stilnovo, Italy, 1960's
By Stilnovo
Located in New York, NY
Rare floor lamp produced by Stilnovo in Italy around 1960. The lamp features a slim stem on a circular base with a compact, adjustable dome-shaped shade. The red lacquered metal give...
Metal
Floor Lamp in the Style of Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Adjustable neck lamp shades, second height is 59 inches.
Brass, Metal
Stilnovo Adjustable Floor Lamp, Italy, 1950s
By Stilnovo
Located in Milan, IT
Exclusive red faux leather covered Stilnovo adjustable floor lamp, Italy 1950s Adjustable shade extending to 97 cm max when wide open.
Metal
Floor Lamp by Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Floor Lamp by Stilnovo. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1960s. Adjustable cantilever floor lamp, with sectioned enamel finish, as well as a patinated polished brass ste...
Brass, Steel, Aluminum
Stilnovo Mid-Century Modern Italian Floor Lamp
By Stilnovo
Located in Weesp, NL
Striking Mid-Century Stilnovo Floor Lamp – Brass, Iron & Milk Glass – Italy, 1950s Elevate your interior with this rare mid-century modern floor lamp attributed to Stilnovo, one of ...
Brass
Floor Lamp by Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Floor Lamp by Stilnovo. Manufactured in Italy, circa 1950s. Brushed satin glass diffuser, enameled metal, brass. Original European cord. We reco...
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
$7,700
H 100 in W 20 in D 22 in
Monumental! Italian Mid Century Modern Art Tension Pole Lamp Stilnovo 50s Brass
By Stilnovo, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Peoria, AZ
Monumental Italian Tension Pole Lamp! Dual Cone Articulating "Floating" Light Brass, White Enamel, Fiberglass "Sparkles" In the manner of Fontana Arte & Stilnovo Offered is an incre...
Metal, Brass, Enamel
Floor Lamp by Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Italy, 1950-55 Marble, brass, painted aluminium One point Light E27.
Marble, Aluminum, Brass
Italian Stilnovo Style Mid Century 5 Arm Floor Lamp
By Stilnovo
Located in Miami, FL
Midcentury five-arm floor lamp attributed to Stilnovo. A stylish Italian Mid-Century Modern Five Arm Floor Lamp with the original painted shades, chrome pole, and base. Each shade e...
Metal, Brass
Stilnovo, Egg-shaped Floor Lamp , Italy, 1950s
By Stilnovo
Located in New York, NY
Combining humor with minimalism, this iconic lamp from Stilnovo is composed of an opaline glass egg resting in its tripodal, graphic, black steel basket.
Steel, Brass
Stilnovo, Italy circa 1955, Adjustable Floor Lamp
By Stilnovo
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Stilnovo, Italy, circa 1955. A floor lamp with marble foot supporting an angled upright stem with large red uplighter on top and a pivoting brass arm terminating in a yellow enamelle...
Marble, Metal
1960s 'Alberello' Floor Lamp by Stilnovo, Italy
By Stilnovo
Located in London, London
Alberello Floor Lamp by Stilnovo A striking 1960s floor lamp by Stilnovo, Italy, featuring seven delicate glass globes arranged like a bouquet on slender brass stems. The base is cr...
Marble, Brass
Sciolari Chrome Floor Lamp Space Age
By Massimo Scolari
Located in Antwerp, BE
Tubular floor lamp in chrome metal, Space Age, designed by Geatano Sciolari. Original Italian 1960s chrome floor lamp with eight movable shades, each with light points directed upwar...
Metal, Chrome
Scolari Italian Modernist Arc Floor Lamp
By Massimo Scolari
Located in Austin, TX
Italian modernist arc floor lamp by Scholari. This piece has a chromed aluminum base and shade with an adjustable chrome arced stem. It has been rewired to US standards.
Aluminum, Chrome