Nerone and Patuzzi furniture is a shining example of the experimental side of mid-century modern design. While the style is known mainly for its clean lines and simple forms, this Italian duo showcased how artistic it could be. Together, they designed beautiful abstract and figurative sculptures, as well as sculptural coffee tables and wall lights.
Gianni Patuzzi (1932–2022) and Giovanni Ceccarelli (1937–1996), who went by the name Nerone, worked together under the NP2 Group. They met while they were both students at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia and were acquainted again in Turin in 1959. The two struck up a fruitful partnership, and in 1962, they started the NP2 Group out of a studio in the Borgaro Torinese northwest of the city.
The idea behind the NP2 group was to integrate art with architecture and furniture making, bringing it out of museums and making it more accessible. The studio of the two young designers quickly became an exciting hub of innovation, attracting talented designers and artists like Marcel Breuer and Emilio Vedova.
In 1964, Nerone’s younger brother, Piercarlo Ceccarelli, joined the NP2 Group as a manager and administrator. Ceccarelli was instrumental in creating relationships with galleries, showrooms and architects throughout Europe and the United States. The group began receiving both public and private commissions.
By the late 1960s, the work of Nerone and Patuzzi was being exhibited around the world, earning recognition and awards. Their designs included everything from furniture and fittings to monumental sculptures. They utilized a wide range of techniques, including woodworking, metalworking and marble engraving.
Around this time, Nerone and Patuzzi began working on individual side projects, but they continued collaborating as the NP2 Group until 1974.
In an interview with the European Parliamentary Research Service in 2016, Patuzzi reflected fondly on his time collaborating with Nerone, remembering that they worked hard but with great enthusiasm.
On 1stDibs, find Nerone and Patuzzi decorative objects, tables, lighting and more.
Brutalist NP2 Nerone & Patuzzi Hand Forged Iron Vide Poche, Italy 1960s
By Gruppo NP2, Nerone and Patuzzi
Located in Milan, IT
Brutalist NP2 Nerone & Patuzzi Hand Forged Iron Vide Poche, Italy 1960s
Iron
$3,464 / item
Nerone Patuzzi NP2 centerpiece bowl Italy 1971
By Nerone and Patuzzi
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Very nice and decorative centrepiece bowl designed by Nerone Ceccarelli and Giancarlo Patuzzi (NP2), Italy 1971. Beautiful and unique shaped centerpiece bowl. This bowl is made from ...
Aluminum
$2,583
H 2.76 in W 19.69 in D 13.98 in
Italian Midcentury Abstract Geometric Silvergrey Aluminum Centerpiece, Sign. NP2
By Nerone Giovanni Ceccarelli
Located in Salzburg, AT
Italian midcentury abstract-geometric silvergrey alumnium bowl designed like a wrinkeled paper, signed NP2 at the bottom Nerone and Patuzzi (sculptor/architect Nerone Ceccarelli &...
Aluminum
Midcentury Raymor Hand-Painted Italian Ceramic Centerpiece Bowl
By Raymor, Bitossi
Located in Cincinnati, OH
This unusual ceramic centerpiece bowl was made in Italy for American importer Raymor. The piece has an elongated scoop form and has been hand-painted in shades of blue and green. The...
Ceramic
Murano Glass Centerpiece Bowl, Italy, circa 1950
Located in New York, NY
A remarkable large hand-blown Murano glass bowl crafted in a rich emerald green hue, featuring the refined bullicante technique—an intricate process in which controlled air bubbles a...
Murano Glass
Italian White Ceramic Seashell Clam Shell Centerpiece Bowl
Located in New York, NY
An Italian white ceramic seashell clam shell centerpiece bowl, circa late-20th century, Italy. A detailed white ceramic seashell: great as a standalone piece or fill with your favori...
Ceramic
Brutalist Vide Poche in Cast Bronze 1960s
Located in Meer, VAN
Brutalist Vide Poche in Cast Bronze, mid 20th century. Beautiful and very distinct vide poche in heavy cast bronze. Quintessentially brutalist with rough and hand made shapes and he...
Bronze
Woven Rattan and Brass Centerpiece Bowl, Italy, 1970s
Located in Benalmadena, ES
Woven rattan centerpiece bowl featuring a structured, circular geometry. Handcrafted in Italy during the 1970s, the piece integrates concentric coiled rattan strands reinforced by cr...
Rattan
$479Sale Price|20% Off
H 4.73 in W 7.49 in D 7.88 in
Black Ceramic Hand-Shaped Vide-Poche, France, 1960s
By Georges Jouve
Located in Marinha Grande, PT
Black glazed ceramic vide-poche in the form of an open hand, made in Vallauris, France, in the 1960s. The generous palm-shaped basin and softly modeled fingers give the piece a stron...
Ceramic
$1,056
H 1.82 in W 9.65 in D 8 in
Vintage Italian Hand-Painted Green Sea Horse Vide Poche Plate, 1960s
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Bright green and beige white handmade Italian vide poche plate. Hand-painted black sea horses and white relief decorative wavey lines and dots. Cream white and light blue spotted gla...
Pottery, Ceramic
Mid-century green glass bowl / centerpiece, Italy 1960s
Located in Firenze, IT
Mid-century green glass bowl / centerpiece Italy 1960s h 10 cm - 22 × 22 cm Conditions: excellent conditions.
Glass, Stained Glass
$400Sale Price|20% Off
H 5.75 in Dm 9.5 in
Mid-Century Italian Polished Marble Fruit Bowl / Centerpiece
Located in San Diego, CA
Mid-century Italian polished marble fruit bowl / centerpiece, circa 1970s. The bowl is in very good vintage condition and is 9.5" in diameter and 5.75" high. It would make a great ce...
Marble
Italian Murano Glass Bowl Centerpiece, Italy, 1950s
Located in Roma, IT
Splendid and heavy centerpiece in Murano artistic glass. The bowl is a true piece of art created by the master's hand - Produced in Murano, Italy, in the 1950s. On the underside ther...
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
$145Sale Price|50% Off
H 2.76 in Dm 5.12 in
Albert Thiry Vide Poche, Vallauris Ceramic, French Riviera, 1960s
By Vallauris, Albert Thiry
Located in London, England
This magnificent pocket vacuum, in enameled stoneware, made by Albert Thiry, is an emblematic piece of Vallauris' French ceramics of the 1960s. With a diameter of 8.5 cm and a height...
Ceramic, Stoneware
Nerone e Patuzzi etched aluminium bowl Italy 1975
By Nerone and Patuzzi
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Wonderful large abstract etched bowl designed by Nerone e Patuzzi and made by Gruppo NP2 in Italy in 1975. The bowl is made from aluminium and has the...
Aluminum
Sold
H 2.76 in W 19.3 in L 2.76 in
Nerone Ceccarelli and Giancarlo Patuzzi, Gruppo NP2 Centerpiece, 1971
By Nerone and Patuzzi
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Rare centerpiece bowl designed by Nerone Ceccarelli and Giancarlo Patuzzi, Gruppo NP2 Italy 1971. The bowl is made of moulded aluminium and is very nicely shaped like a wrinkled pape...
Aluminum