Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
James Alloway Paperweight with Controlled Bubbles, American Studio Art Glass
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
The piece measures 3.25" high and 2.25" wide at the center. It is signed by the artist near the base. James Alloway (b. 1957) is a renowned American glass artist. James had a fasci...
Art Glass, Glass
Perthshire Art Glass Paperweight Twists and Millefiori
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Vintage Perthshire paperweight features large central P cane (signature cane), surrounded by 3 rings of highly detailed millefiori can...
Art Glass, Glass, Sommerso
Murano Mushroom Toadstool Art Glass Paperweight Orange 1980s
By Fornasa De Murano A L'Insegna Del Moreto
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Murano Style Italian Art Glass Mushroom Toadstool Paperweight Orange with Millefiori and White 1980s. Beautiful vintage Murano style hand made orange with multicolor spots Italian ar...
Art Glass, Blown Glass
Silver Panther Paperweight on a Black Marble Ball by Mary Jurek Design
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
A Silver Panther Paperweight on a Black Marble Ball By: Mary Jurek Design Inc. Mary Jurek Panther Paperweight Marble Ball and Chrome. Designed as a p...
Marble, Metal
Vintage Flower Art Glass Egg Paperweight in the Style of Murano of Italy
Located in San Diego, CA
Vintage Flower Art Glass Egg Paperweight in the Style Murano of Italy, circa 1980s. This heavy vintage art glass egg paperweight, crafted in the ...
Art Glass
Vintage "Ocean" Scene Art Glass Egg Paperweight in the Style of Murano of Italy
Located in San Diego, CA
Vintage "Ocean" Scene Art Glass Egg Paperweight in the Style Murano of Italy, circa 1980s. This piece is heavy, is in good vintage condition with no chips or scratches, and measures ...
Art Glass
Vintage Murano Sommerso Orb Blue Art Glass Ashtray
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Gorgeous vintage Murano Venetian handblown art glass bowl or ashtray. Italian Murano Sommerso Cenedese orb blue art glass ashtray. Heavyweight glass ashtray in a gorgeous minimal design. A very beautiful and substantial two-tone blue Italian Murano art glass cigarette ashtray...
Blown Glass
Christofle , silver plate paperweight " Lucky Dice ".cube .
By Christofle
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great paperweight design in this Christofle ornament .
Silver Plate
Large Vintage Ceramic Pop Art Bayer Aspirin Paperweight or Display
Located in New York, NY
A big ceramic Bayer Aspirin from a store called Think Big in SoHo, NYC in the 1980s . Fun. Decorative piece for display, art in a bathroom or a paperweig...
Ceramic, Plaster
Vintage Italian Murano Art Glass Ashtrays Venetian Sculpture of Gondolas
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Murano Blown Glass Gondola Ashtrays. Gorgeous vintage Murano Venetian hand-blown art glass sculpture of gondola boats one red, one green. A very beautiful...
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Murano Sommerso Orb Blue Art Glass Vintage Ashtray Italy
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Gorgeous vintage Murano Venetian handblown art glass bowl or ashtray. Italian Murano Sommerso orb blue and clear art glass ashtray Extremely hard to fi...
Blown Glass
Glass paperweight with Churba vitrofusion technique
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Churba glass paperweight with vitrofusion technique Beautiful paperweight from the 70s made of Churba glass, using the vitrofusion technique, it has a striking design of veins encaps...
Art Glass
1980 Lucite Copper Penny Paperweight Decorative Object
Located in New York, NY
An '80s modern or Postmodern period Lucite and copper U.S. penny paperweight, 1980, USA. All pennies are of the year 1980. A great desk accessory or ...
Copper
Vintage Murano Decorative Blown Glass Wrapped Blue Hard Candy Paper
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage large Murano decorative blown glass wrapped blue hard candy paperweight. Vintage oversized Murano blue blown glass candy sculpture of candy wr...
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Murano Style Art Glass Mushroom Toadstool Paperweight Green and Yellow 1980s
By Fornasa De Murano A L'Insegna Del Moreto
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Murano Style Italian Art Glass Mushroom Toadstool Paperweight Green and Yellow 1980s. Beautiful vintage Murano style hand made yellow with green spots Italian art glass mushroom toad...
Art Glass, Blown Glass
Italy 1985 Postmodern Abstract Bronze Sculpture
By Edoardo Franceschini 1
Located in Brescia, IT
This artwork by the Italian artist Edoardo Franceschini becomes a landscape where the use of bright colors, it evoques the worlds of our dreams. All his production is characterized b...
Bronze
Italy 1980 Bronze Abstract Sculpture Walter Valentini Tavole Panels
Located in Brescia, IT
Walter Valentini was born in 1928 in South Italy. A painter and engraver, he lives and works in Milan. He is Holder of the chair for engraving at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in...
Bronze
$4,400Sale Price / item|20% Off
Rare 1979 Donovan Leisure NYC Cia Law Firm 50th Anniversary Brass Paperweight
Located in Hyattsville, MD
Extremely rare New York City historical relic. A fiftieth anniversary brass cubic monolith commemorative desk sculpture. Issued to monogram; AWS. Approx. 45-60 members of firm a that time, only a handful were issued this paperweight in solid Brass weighing 8 lbs. 4.2 oz. Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine was an American white-shoe law firm, located in New York. It was founded in 1929 by General William "Wild Bill...
Brass
Italian Murano Art Glass Paperweight Lily Flower with Curled Stem Sculpture 1980
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Italian Murano Art Glass Lily Flower with Curled Stem Paperweight. VIntage Murano Italian Art Glass Flower Sculpture Decorative Object, 1980s. Beautiful blown art glass Murano lily...
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Vintage Flower Art Glass Paperweight in the Style of Murano of Italy
Located in San Diego, CA
Vintage Flower Art Glass Egg Paperweight in the Style Murano of Italy, circa 1980s. This heavy vintage art glass egg paperweight, crafted in the style of Murano, showcases a vibrant ...
Art Glass
Rush Dougherty The Ice Palace Sevres Cristal France Signed Crystal Paperweight
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Cristal De Sevres French Crystal Sculpture "The Ice Palace" signed by Rush Dougherty Sevres France. Beautiful paperweight sculpture by Rush Dough...
Crystal
$220Sale Price|20% Off
Post-Modern Italian Marble Column Paperweight
Located in San Diego, CA
A nice post-modern Italian marble column paperweight, circa 1980s. The piece is primarily cream in color with grey and black veining throughout....
Marble
1980 Italy Post-Modern Bronze Abstract Sculpture Beppe Bonetti with Base
Located in Brescia, IT
This artwork was created by the Italian artist Beppe Bonetti. Title "Piccolo racconto" translate "Little tale"" Beppe Bonetti was born in 1951 in Brescia, Italy, where he lives and ...
Bronze
Vintage Blown Art Glass Paperweight Blue and White Flower
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage beautiful and colorful vintage Murano hand blown blue and white Italian art glass paperweight. Gorgeous vintage studio hand blown crystal art glass paperweight with a cobalt blue base and a white cascading flower or frost. The inside of the paperweight has a large flower and is filled a large controlled bubble in the centre with multiple small controlled bubbles. Vintage Crystal Ball...
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
Val Saint Lambert Dog Bone Sculpture Crystal Glass Paperweight, Belgium
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
This is a stunning Val Saint Lambert Dog Bone Sculpture Crystal Glass Paperweight. It has the maker's mark on the side of the glass. Val Saint Lambert is one of the leading crystal m...
Crystal
Post-Modern, Brilliantly Cut Diamond Shaped Art Glass Paperweight / Sculpture
Located in San Diego, CA
Post-Modern, Brilliantly Cut Diamond Art Glass Paperweight / Sculpture, circa 1990s. The piece is in very good vintage condition with no chips or scratches and measures 4"D x 2.5"H. ...
Art Glass
1980s Blenko Blue Apple With Clear Stem, Original Label
By Blenko Glass
Located in Charleston, SC
A beautiful Blenko Blue Apple with a Clear Stem. It still retains its original label. This large hand blown apple measures 4" wide by 5" high by 4" deep. M...
Art Glass
Giant Green Acrylic Clothespin Paper Clip in the style of Claes Oldenburg 1980's
By Memphis Group, Claes Oldenburg
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Giant Green Acrylic Clothespin Paper Clip Post Modern / 1980's " yes...... it has a function but its real appeal is as a "mini" Claes Oldenburg sculpture for your desk." " some l...
Acrylic
Postmodern Black Metal, Clear Acrylic and Steel Nails Decorative Object
Located in New York, NY
A Postmodern period clear and black acrylic and metal decorative object, circa late-20th century Piece is rectangular in shape, comprised of three pieces acrylic (black and clear), black metal screws and thin metal nails (approximately 500), making this an interesting Postmodern decorative object...
Metal
$180Sale Price|20% Off
Floating Rivets in Lucite Cube Advertisement Paperweight Style of William Rolfe
Located in San Diego, CA
Floating rivets in lucite cube advertisement for the J L Thompson Corporation, paperweight in the style of William Rolfe, circa the 1980s.
Lucite
Pair Post-Modern Marble Interlocking Rings / Paperweight
Located in San Diego, CA
Pair of post-modern marble interlocking rings / paperweight, circa 1980s. The piece is in very good condition with no chips or cracks and measures 5"W x 3.5"D x 3"H. Beautiful brown ...
Marble
Beranek Large Abstract Paperweight or Glass Sculpture, Signed
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Large art glass paperweight or sculpture features an abstract design in sapphire blue with green accents, enclosed in clear glass in sommerso technique. The piece is marked with the...
Glass, Art Glass, Sommerso
Black Art Glass Sphere Paperweight Decorative Object
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful Modern/Postmodern black and neutral flesh-tone art glass sphere decorative object or paperweight with an organic modern design, circa 1970s. This handmade art glass color...
Blown Glass, Art Glass
$550 / item
Aluminum Desk Accessory / Paperweight
Located in Treadwell, NY
Collection I: Desk block This high polished aluminum desk block, adds style and sophistication to your work surface. Made to order.
Aluminum
Postmodern Murano Glass Amber Bird Figurine Paperweight
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Playful bird figurine or paperweight is made in sommerso technique; amber colored glass gather with swirls of light-colored glass ribbons is cased over with clear glass. Controlled...
Art Glass, Glass, Murano Glass
Art Glass Sommerso Blue Bird Paperweight Figurine
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Abstract blue art glass bird figurine was hand blown in sommerso technique, with flue and white speckled gather of colored glass encased in clear glass. Minimal, sculptural tail and...
Art Glass
$260Sale Price|20% Off
Post-Modern Marble Block / Paperweight
Located in San Diego, CA
Gorgeous post-modern green marble block / paperweight ,circa 1980s. The piece is in very good condition with no chips or cracks and measures 4"W x 4"D x 4...
Marble
Vintage Round Post Modern Green Marble Ashtray 1970 Made in Italy
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage carrara marble stone green Italian ashtray or catchall. Post Modern stylish post modern round green onyx marble stone ashtray with three indents...
Marble
$1,200 / item
Aluminum Desk Block and Tray Accessory Set
Located in Treadwell, NY
Collection I: Desk set This high polished aluminum desk set, comprised of a desk tray and desk block, adds style and sophistication to your work surface Measures: Desk block 3...
Aluminum
Shauna Watkins Op-Art Paperweight, American Studio Art Glass
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Vintage art glass paperweight features Op-Art design with dark, almost black Burgundy red glass circular structure, surrounded by striped glass ribbon in blue, white, and burnt oran...
Art Glass, Sommerso
Vintage Emerald Green and Blue Murano Art Glass Elephant Sculpture Paperweight
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Gorgeous vintage Murano Venetian style handblown art glass sculpture of an elephant. Italian art glass hand blown green and uranium neon green elephant sculpture...
Blown Glass
Querandi "Half Apple" glass paperweight from the 1960s
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Querandi "Halved Apple" Glass Paperweight 1960s Querandi glass paperweight, "Halved Apple" design, 1960s. Crafted using German techniques, it features a stylized shape resembling an ...
Art Glass
$180Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Sculptural Pawn Shape Brass Paperweight Made in England
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful and whimsical brass paperweight that adds personality and style to your office or décor. The weighty piece is signed “Made in England” and adds style to any place. A great ...
Brass
Italy 1980 Bronze Abstract Sculpture Walter Valentini Tracce Tracks
Located in Brescia, IT
Walter Valentini was born in 1928 in South Italy. A painter and engraver, he lives and works in Milan. He is Holder of the chair for engraving at the ...
Bronze
Post-Modern Art Glass Paperweight / Sculpture by Svoboda Karlov
By Svoboda
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Gorgeous post-modern art glass paperweight / sculpture by Svoboda Karlov circa 1980s. Great period design with floating red, white, and blue triangles in the manner of Alexander Cald...
Art Glass
Vintage Arthur Court Polished Aluminum Chickadee Paperweight
By Arthur Court
Located in Doraville, GA
Beautiful polished aluminum alloy partridge paperweight with ruby red eyes designed by Arthur Court Designs in 1992. The partridge is 3 1/2 inches long, 3.0 inches wide and 2 1/2 inc...
Aluminum
Italy 1980 Abstract Sculpture by Nevio De Luca
Located in Brescia, IT
This Italian artist follow his soul and imagines the scenes story telling the life. This is the cinema story, a dreaming bronze in which we can find a movie. Only one piece, bronze o...
Brass, Bronze
Pair of Post-Modern Marble Spheres / Paperweights
Located in San Diego, CA
Gorgeous set of two post-modern marble spheres / paperweights, circa 1980s. The pieces are in very good condition with no chips or cracks and the largest one measures 3"D x 3"H and ...
Marble
Lucite Bird Sculpture by Silvio Russo for Guzzini 1970s Italy
By Guzzini
Located in Oakland, CA
1970s lucite bird sculpture by Silvio Russo for Guzzini of Italy, the design is meant to rock back and forth. Still retains the original label.
Lucite
Engraved Anatomical Heart Model Crystal Art Glass Decor Paperweight
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Laser Engraved Anatomical Human Heart Model Crystal Art Glass Decor Paperweight. Rectangular shape with a 3D human heart model. Great to use as a paperweight or decor for a heart doc...
Art Glass
Polished Cast Brass Mino Paper Holder by Studio Orth
Located in Geneve, CH
Polished Cast Brass Mino Paper Holder by Studio Orth Dimensions: W 17 x D 4 x H 5 cm Materials: Cast metal. Finishes: Polished Cast Brass or Polished Cast Aluminum About: Studio Or...
Metal
$260Sale Price / set|20% Off
Set of Four Post-Modern Marble Blocks / Paperweights
Located in San Diego, CA
Gorgeous set of four post-modern marble blocks / paperweights, circa 1980s. The pieces are in very good condition with no chips or cracks and the largest one measures 3"W x 2"D x 6....
Marble
Italy 1980 Post-Modern Abstract Pewter Sculpture Walter Valentini
Located in Brescia, IT
Walter Valentini was born in 1928 in South Italy. A painter and engraver, he lives and works in Milan. He is Holder of the chair for engraving at the ...
Pewter
Italy Late 20th Century Bronze Abstract Sculpture Walter Valentini Tracce Tracks
Located in Brescia, IT
Walter Valentini was born in 1928 in South Italy. A painter and engraver, he lives and works in Milan. He is Holder of the chair for engraving at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in...
Bronze
Italy 1980 Black Bronze Abstract Sculpture Walter Valentini Big Tracks Tracce
Located in Brescia, IT
Walter Valentini was born in 1928 in South Italy. A painter and engraver, he lives and works in Milan. He is Holder of the chair for engraving at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in...
Bronze
Ted Arnold High Society Solid Fake Gold Cast Fast Food Emporium Slice of Pizza
Located in Doornspijk, NL
Ted Arnold High Society solid fake gold cast fast food emporium says the original carton box. According to the same box the series contained th...
Metal
Querandi Art Glass Paperweight in Cobalt Blue
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Querandi Art Glass Paperweight in Cobalt Blue This Querandi art glass paperweight features an ovoid shape. Its design is characterized by a pattern of concentric bands in shades of c...
Art Glass
Multicolored Murano Glass 1980s/90s advertisement paperweight by VeArt Pirelli
By VeArt
Located in Varese, Lombardia
This beatiful hand made advertising paperweight was produced in Italy by Veart for the Pirelli group. Engraved at the bottom with the maker's s...
Murano Glass
Ted Arnold High Society Solid Fake Gold Cast Fast Food Emporium Fried Egg
Located in Doornspijk, NL
Ted Arnold High Society solid fake gold cast fast food emporium says the original carton box. According to the same box the series contained th...
Metal
1979 Italy Post-Modern Graziano Pompili Abstract Bronze Sculpture
Located in Brescia, IT
This intense and interesting abstract bronze sculpture, it is one of a kind artwork, made in 1979 circa by the Italian Artist Graziano Pompili The title "Paesaggio con ombra" is tra...
Bronze