Matteo Zorzenoni Crystal Ball Single Vase in Ash and Green Glass for Cappellini

Known for his innovative style and ongoing exploration of the potential of materials, Matteo Zorzenoni has garnered critical acclaim as one of Italy’s most talented, up-and-coming furniture designers.

Born in 1978 in Treviso, Zorzenoni studied art and design at the Art Institute before he attended IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) in Venice, graduating in 2001 with a degree in industrial design. After graduation, Zorzenoni worked at the Luav University of Venice for several years as an assistant for professors and designers Riccardo Blumer, Denis Santachiara and Marc Sadler, and later as a lecturer.

From 2004 to 2008, Zorzenoni worked as a consultant for studio Fabrica di Benetton, then began a long-term collaboration with Spanish furniture designer Jaime Hayon. Together, Zorzenoni and Hayon head the Italian branch of Fabrica.

When creating his modern furniture designs, Zorzenoni focuses on unlocking the potential of materials such as glass, marble, concrete and metal — elements he incorporates in many of his pieces. His inventive use of materials has led to several high-profile collaborations with notable European manufacturers. For instance, Zorzenoni designed the Crystal Ball vase for Italian company Cappellini, a collection of marble coffee tables called Chap for manufacturer Miniforms and, for MM Lampadari, a series of elegant and sculptural chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps and decorative lighting. 

Zorzenoni’s most prolific collaboration to date is with Italian furniture brand Scapin Collezioni. For Scapin, he has designed several of his most popular pieces such as the Cantilever wood and marble side tables, Ellipse dining room tables, distinctive Settebello sideboards and credenzas, the Òblo cabinet and the Bent, Clip and Cathedral mirrors.

Throughout his design career, Zorzenoni has participated in several exhibitions worldwide including the London Design Festival, Triennale di Milano, MAXXI in Rome, the Biennale of Architecture in Venice and more.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Matteo Zorzenoni tables, case pieces and storage cabinets and lighting.

In 1946, at the start of a postwar boom in Europe, Enrico Cappellini opened the doors to a small furniture studio in the Italian town of Carugo. But it wasn’t until his son joined the company nearly three decades later that Cappellini became a powerhouse fixture on the global design stage. Today Cappellini is one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of innovative chairs, tables and decorative objects.

Giulio Cappellini joined the family company in 1977 and, with his appointment, ushered in a stage of boundary-pushing modernism and prolific creativity at Cappellini. With a dual background in architecture and business management, Giulio was well equipped to steer the brand into both innovative design and economic growth in a rapidly globalizing economy.

The second-generation leader’s first major success came in 1981, with the launch of Sistemi, a modular, hyperfunctional storage system that would come to symbolize the chic functionality of Cappellini. That was quickly followed by a collaboration with renowned Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata for the Progetti Compiuti collection, a line that brought unexpected playfulness to the simple framework of a black-and-white cabinet and remains an iconic collectible today.

That first collaboration opened the doors to a prolific output of partnerships, with Cappellini tapping such star designers as Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders, Tom Dixon, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Nendo for collections over the ensuing decades that spanned a range of materials and styles. Speaking to this range, Marc Newson’s plumply curvaceous 1988 Embryo chair, Jasper Morrison’s slightly arachnoid 1987 Thinking Man’s chair and Tom Dixon’s sculptural 1991 S-chair — each quite stylistically unique — remain some of the company’s most recognizable pieces, with the latter in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Cappellini, now headquartered in Milan, continues to partner with guest designers across furniture, storage and lighting solutions, though many of its 1970s and ’80s designs remain its most coveted today.

Find vintage Cappellini furniture on 1stDibs.