Every so often a company produces a design so iconic that it comes to symbolize its entire history. For Studio 65, the Italian avant-garde design collective cofounded by Franco Audrito, Piero Gatti and others, this was the Bocca sofa — alternatively known as the “lips sofa,” “red lip sofa,” “Dalí sofa” or Marilyn sofa.”
Studio 65’s lip-shaped seat — modeled after a singular feature from Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí’s portrait of Mae West — became a design icon shortly after its release in 1970 and remains a beloved collector’s item today. The Bocca symbolizes Studio 65’s playful, subversive approach to design. The collective took shape in Turin in 1965 with the goal of avant-garde experimentation. The group would eventually grow to comprise artists, designers and poets, including Roberta Garosci, Enzo Bertone, Paolo Morello and Paolo Rondelli. It would also play a central role in the Italian Radical design movement, the practitioners of which found inspiration in Pop art, minimalism and Arte Povera.
The Bocca sofa was born of one of Audrito’s earliest commissions — to design a gym in Milan — which he accepted just a year after graduating from architecture school. The collective enlisted Italian manufacturer Gufram, a firm at the forefront of Italian Radical design, to create a bold red sofa in the shape of plump lips; it was dubbed Marilyn after Ms. Monroe and was an instant sensation when installed at the fitness center.
Studio 65 would follow this with the also iconic Capitello side chair (another Gufram collaboration, now in the permanent collection at The Met), whose reimagining of a decapitated marble classical architectural column in squishy foam was an on-the-nose expression of the group’s pushback to traditional design. It’s a nod they iterated with the Attica coffee table, whose form appears sliced from an oversize column.
Though Studio 65 still operates as an architecture studio under the leadership of Audrito today, the original collective broke up in the late 1970s, making its output from the past decade sought-after fodder for collectors of postmodern, Radical and Italian design.
Find Studio 65 chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$4,300 / item
GUFRAM Attica TL Coffee Table by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
The coffee table Attica TL is contemporary archaeological finds that can be left out in the weather thanks to a particular finish which is suited also to o...
Other
GUFRAM LIMITED EDITION "Attica" TL Table by Studio 65 Italy
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Attica TL limited edition table, marked #50 of 1000 The Gufram Attica series was designed in 1972 by the Italian Radical Design collective Studio 65 during the height of the Radic...
Mirror, Foam
Gufram Attica TL Limited Edition Greek Column Sculptural Coffee Table - Studio65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Varedo, MB
Originally designed by Studio 65, the Attica TL coffee table is an iconic expression of Italian Radical Design. Produced by Gufram as a Limited Edition of only 1,000 pieces, Attica T...
Other
$15,160Sale Price|20% Off
H 14 in W 38 in D 38 in
Treasures of Decay Limited Edition of Sculptural Tables by Studio Roeper
By Studio Roeper
Located in Napa, CA
Introducing Treasures of Decay, a limited edition of solid wood stumps sculpted by the forces of nature and time. In this body of work, master craft...
Copper
Large Round White Column Coffee Table by MSJ Furniture Studio
Located in Vancouver, BC
Our low sitting column coffee table looks great in a contemporary interior. The table tops whitened finish allows you to see the polished wood grain through the finish. The column le...
Beech
Attica Round Parchment Coffee Table
By Giobagnara
Located in Milan, IT
The charming strength of the Attica collection is due to the combination of the highly geometric aesthetics with velvety leathers, appealing textured parchment and unique wood grains...
Leather, Velvet
Low Round White Column Coffee Table by MSJ Furniture Studio
Located in Vancouver, BC
Our low sitting column coffee table looks great in a contemporary interior. The tables whitewashed finish allows you to see the polished wood grain through the whitewash. This item c...
Beech
Gufram Massolo Tea Table by Piero Gilardi
By Gufram Furniture, Piero Gilardi
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Massolo, which can at first sight look like a heavy block of porphyry, etched and polished on the surface - an immovable boulder that, thanks to the polyurethane it is made of, loses...
Other
$4,990
H 14.2 in W 38.2 in D 26 in
Porfido Coffee Table by Piero Gilardi for Gufram Limited Edition, 1974
By Gufram Furniture, Memphis Group, Piero Gilardi
Located in Vienna, AT
Rare limited edition table by Piero Gilardi from 1974. This is an early piece numbered 27/500 Measurements are 38 x 26 x 14 inches. Resembling an ancient engraved piece of stone, i...
Polystyrene
Sputnik Coffee Table Organic Glass, Limited Edition
Located in Tarrytown, NY
Handcrafted in New York by Spark Interior. It can be finished in different finishes; Starphire glass top with polished edges.
Glass, Mahogany
Large Round White Column Coffee Table by MSJ Furniture Studio
Located in Vancouver, BC
Our low sitting column coffee table looks great in a contemporary interior. The table tops whitened finish allows you to see the polished wood grain. The column legs can be ordered i...
Beech
$8,312 / item
H 13.78 in W 42.52 in D 44.1 in
Limited Edition Sculptural Coffee Table in Bent Solid Ash Wood, White, Italy
By Sandro Lopez
Located in Milano, IT
A coffee table that is both furniture and sculpture designed for authentic living spaces. Two identical wooden shells are arranged together in a reversed posture and are joined to cr...
Glass, Wood, Bentwood
$4,100 / item
H 14.18 in W 38.19 in D 25.99 in
Gufram Massolo Coffee Table by Piero Gilardi, Limited Edition of 500
By Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Gufram Massolo coffee table by Piero Gilardi (Limited Edition of 500), one of Gufram's works inspired by nature, the appearance of a large brick highlights the designer's irony and l...
Plastic, Rubber
Kabuk Coffee Table by Rectangle Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Kabuk coffee table by Rectangle Studio Dimensions: W 27 x H 38 cm Materials: Massive pinewood and walnut wood oil Kabuk is an alternative product with sculptural appearance whi...
Pine
Greek Key Coffee Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
The sleek lines and whitewash ash veneer exude a sense of serenity and tranquility, while the Greek key details add a touch of classical architecture to the mix. This table is the pe...
Wood
Sold
H 15.75 in Dm 27.56 in
Studio 65, Attica Side Table TL, prod. Gufram, 2008, Limited Edition ex. 3/1000
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Rivoli, IT
The CAPITELLO seat, ATTICA armchair and ATTICA TL coffee table, designed by Studio 65, are born from the "deconstruction" of a traditional Greek column, resulting in a unique series ...
Mirror, Foam
"Tavolino a Fiore" by Studio 65
By Studio 65
Located in New York, NY
"Tavolino a Fiore" side table in wood and steel. Designed by Studio 65, Italy, 1970.
Steel