SANREMO Floor lamp designed by Archizoom Associati in 1968 for Poltronova

With its burst of illuminated acrylic “leaves” emerging from a long metal trunk, the kitschy design of 1968’s Sanremo floor lamp resembles a cheap artificial palm tree. That irreverence is in line with the avant-garde work of Archizoom Associati, a studio formed in 1966 in Florence alongside the rise of Italian Radical design and fellow collectives such as Superstudio, Ziggurat and UFO.

An “anti-design” style was fully embraced by the members of this movement — many were recent graduates of prestigious Italian academic institutions. They relished in experimenting with new materials, unconventional shapes and vivid colors for furnishings and objects, while they challenged modern architecture norms with venturesome concepts for nightclubs. The movement’s celebration of pop culture and irony was a reaction to the starkness of the dominant modernism and what the Italian Radical designers deemed a promotion of consumerism.

The prototype for the cheeky faux foliage — named for the seaside Italian city of Sanremo — was devised by industrial designer Dario Bartolini (b. 1943) as an engagement present for his fellow Archizoom member and fiancée Lucia Morozzi. In addition to the Sanremo floor lamp’s clever use of transparent plastic to radiate light through its leaves, the initial concept for the fixture featured a sound element that would resemble the chirping noise of a cricket’s song. Although that whimsical touch didn’t make it into the version produced by Italian furniture manufacturer Poltronova, the floor lamp has plenty of eccentric flourishes, including color options of fluorescent red, green and blue light as well as a base in black or white.

Poltronova is known for embracing the creativity that opposites can introduce to a space. Its radical modernist furniture and lighting fixtures are simultaneously grounded in classic aesthetics and inspired by what were then new and provocative artistic movements in mid-century Italy, when the company was founded. This tension resulted in unique and extraordinary pieces at the manufacturer, from eccentric, glove-shaped armchairs to striking dining tables that feature a mix of materials and textures.

Italian designer Sergio Cammilli founded Poltronova in Tuscany in 1957. That same year, it won the Compasso d’Oro for the Panchetto chair designed by Luciano Nustrini. Revolutionary Italian architect Ettore Sottsass — a maestro of postmodern design who would later establish the Memphis Group — came on board as an art director in 1958. Poltronova manufactured many of his furniture and ceramic designs. Sottsass’s lighting, seating and other works for Poltronova showcase the designer’s bold experimentation with solid wood, glass, metal and laminate materials.

Other established names in Italian furniture design collaborated with Poltronova’s Sottsass and Cammilli, including Giovanni Michelucci, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti. However, the company truly set itself apart in its collaborations with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, groups that were part of an irreverent, avant-garde movement in art and design that took shape during the 1960s in Florence, Turin and Milan. Collectives associated with the movement — which would one day be called Italian Radical design — drew on Pop art and minimalism and explored working with unconventional materials to create colorful, quirky and uniquely shaped objects and furnishings. At the time, Poltronova also worked with up-and-coming names in the art world, like painter Max Ernst and sculptor Mario Ceroli.

Poltronova showcased its groundbreaking designs in many exhibitions, such as “La Casa Abitata,” which was held in Florence in 1965. At Milan's Eurodomus trade show in 1970, Poltronova debuted an entire bedroom collection designed by Sottsass — including his sensuous Ultrafragola mirror. The brand’s furnishings were included in a 1972 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art called "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," and in 1977, Poltronova again won the Compasso d’Oro for a book called Fare Mobili con Poltronova (Making Furniture with Poltronova).

Poltronova's enduring and acclaimed furniture designs came to be loved far outside Italy. During the 1960s, importer Charles Stendig represented the company and helped introduce it to the American market.

In 2005, Poltronova established the Centro Studi Poltronova to recreate some of the company's iconic furniture. The brand has also recently collaborated with English architect Nigel Coates, who worked with a Poltronova master craftsman in Italy to design a series of limited-edition furniture in 2011, including the Domo chair.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Poltronova tables, seating, storage cabinets and more.