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.
$5,612 / item
Bud Table Lamp by Atelier Demichelis
Located in Geneve, CH
Bud table lamp by Atelier Demichelis Limited edition of 20 pieces, numbered and signed Dimensions: D 40 x H 71 cm Materials: Br...
Bronze
Postmodern Memphis Style Rhombus Glass Lamp Chandelier, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Cool 27.5" wide melted glass lamp from the late 1980s Italy Postmodern Memphis style ceiling light featuring an opal or satinized glass rhombus with orange melted glass tips. It's...
Steel
$625 / item
Frank Ligtelijn for RAAK 'Globe' Pendants
By Peill & Putzler, RAAK, Frank Ligtelijn
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Frank Ligtelijn for RAAK Amsterdam by Peill & Putzle, B 1040-20 'Globe' Pendants, glass and aluminum, Netherlands, 1970s. Striking pendants d...
Aluminum
Ferrerol Babin Polyshape Green Aluminium Floor Lamp by Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Ferrerol Babin Polyshape Green Aluminium Floor Lamp by Cassina SCULPTED GEOMETRIES The first project by Ferréol Babin for Cassina and the second chapter of the Patronage project, P...
Aluminum
Postmodern Artemide Pantarei Wall Lamp/ Sconce
Located in New York, NY
This very cool wall or ceiling light was designed in the early 1990s by Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide called Pantarei . Rounded glass shade with an aluminum frame. Can be used indoor...
Aluminum
$707 / item
Dream/Reality Small Lamp by Six Dots Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Dream/Reality Small Lamp by Six Dots Design Unique Piece. Dimensions: Custom Materials: Raw aluminum. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it wil...
Aluminum
$1,542 / item
Green Marble Peona Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
Green Marble Peona Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel Dimensions: Ø 40 x H 61 cm. Materials: Brass, cotton and green marble. Also available in different marble, wood and alabaster option...
Marble, Brass
$2,319Sale Price|20% Off
Memphis style. Post-Modern handmade ceramic floor lamp, Italy, 1980s
By Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi, Ettore Sottsass, George Sowden
Located in SANT ADRIÀ DE BESÒS, ES
Memphis style handmade ceramic floor lamp, Italy, 1980s. Made by hand by joining various ceramic elements used in high voltage electrical towers as cable insulators. Different types of black and white ceramic insulators have been used, joined with glue cement and a central metal stem, creating a sculptural and geometric structure totally Memphis and Post-Modern style, with a certain brutalist air. Unknown author. Very much in the style of the creations and designs of Ettore Sottsass, Michele De Lucchi, Peter Shire, Shiro Kuramata, Sowden and Du Pasquier. Its design also reminds us of the well-known Shogun lamp...
Metal
$650 / item
Roger Tallon for Erco 'Spot' Wall Lights
By Roger Tallon, Erco
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Roger Tallon for Erco, 'Spot' wall lights, iron, lacquered metal, metal, plastic, France, 1970s. These wall lamps are icons made by Erco and designed by the French designer Roger Ta...
Metal
$14,089 / item
XXL Chandelier by Olivia Cognet
Located in Geneve, CH
XXL Chandelier by Olivia Cognet Dimensions: L 100 cm x W 75 cm x H 32 cm Materials: Ceramic. Non electrified. Weight: 46 kg. Each of Olivia’s handmade creations is a unique work of ...
Ceramic
Multicolered glass & chromed metal 90s Melissa chandelier by Cordero Artemide
Located in Varese, Lombardia
Sculptural chandelier in chrome plated metal and colored shaped glass, designed by Toni Cordero in the late 1990s and produced by Artemide. The curved spiral structure is made of chr...
Metal, Chrome
No. 21 Green Fringes Dip Dyed Contemporary Art Ceiling Lamp by Sander Bottinga
Located in Geneve, CH
Green charme pendant lamp, Sander Bottinga. Dimensions: H 65 (can be customized) x W 38 x D 25 cm. Hand sculpted in brass, leather, wood and dip dyed colored fringes in viscose. ...
Brass
Vintage Postmodern Italian Nestore Table Lamp by Carlo Forcolini, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Elegant table lamp from the Italian lighting manufacturer Artemide after a design by Carlo Forcolini from the late 1980s. The lights of the Nestore series impress with their eleganc...
Metal
$7,500 / item
Serge Castella Chandelier, circa 2000, France
Located in Girona, Spain
Large "Spring" chandelier by Serge Castella. Custom-made. Signed and numbered. Metal and plaster. France, circa 2000. Excellent condition. Serge Castella Interiors focuses on Antique...
Metal
Vintage French Model Dum-Dum Egg Glass Table Lamp from SCE, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Table lamp in the form of the French manufacturer SCE. The elegant glass diffuser shows the shape of a simple egg. In addition to the function as a functional light source, this lam...
Glass
Ami Floor Lamp by Garnier Pingree
By Asa Pingree
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Experimenting with steel mesh as a design material, we often find the studio filled with random shapes crowding out a tabletop like a little city skyline of uniform grids. The mesh w...
Steel
Charles And Ray Eames Set of Two Dot Pattern Light Appliques Spheres by Cassina
By Charles and Ray Eames, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Charles And Ray Eames Set of Two Dot Pattern Light Appliques Spheres by Cassina ICONIC PATTERN Initially created for a textile design competition launched in 1947 by the Museum of ...
Aluminum
Italian Murano Glass Wall Light "Nausicaa 18" by Massimo Giacon for Artemide
Located in Barntrup, DE
Amazing wall lamp "Nausicaa 18" by Italian designer Massimo Giacon. Hand-crafted Murano glass lamp body in the shape of a vase. Manufactured in 1997 by Artemide, Milano/Venezia serie...
Metal
Medium Misalliance Ral Bottle Green Wall Light by Lexavala
Located in Geneve, CH
Medium Misalliance Ral bottle green wall light by Lexavala Dimensions: D 16 x W 100 x H 8 cm Materials: powder coated aluminium. There are two lenghts of socket covers, extendin...
Aluminum
Deditos Unique Pendant Lamp in White Marble & Aluminum by Andres Monnier
Located in Geneve, CH
Deditos Unique Pendant Lamp in White Marble & Aluminum by Andres Monnier Unique Piece Dimensions: D 15 x W 20 x H 25 cm. Materials: Aluminum and white marble. Available in different...
Marble, Aluminum
$33,617 / item
L 2050 Tulips Pendant Lamp B by Tanuj Arora
Located in Geneve, CH
L 2050 Tulips Pendant Lamp B by Tanuj Arora Dimensions: D 55 x W 205 x H 116 cm. Materials: Cut Glass, Blown Borosilicate Glass and Solid Bronze. The weigh...
Bronze
$2,195 / item
Aaro Wall Lamp by Simon Schmitz
Located in Geneve, CH
Aaro wall lamp by Simon Schmitz Dimensions: D 16 x W 155 x H 64 cm Materials: Aluminum, steel All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it will be w...
Aluminum, Steel
$195Sale Price|40% Off
Vintage Yellow Pencil Table Lamp Pop Art Style, 1980s
By Lightolier
Located in Amityville, NY
Vintage Yellow Pencil Table Lamp Pop Art Style, 1980s. This table lamp, in the form of an oversized pencil, is representative of the 1980s trend of making large versions of everyday ...
Wood
Axis Minor Limited Edition Table Lamp in Brazilian Natural Stone by Otavio Motta
Located in Geneve, CH
Axis Minor Limited Edition Table Lamp in Brazilian Natural Stone by Otavio Motta Signed, limited edition Dimensions: W 22 x D 22 x H 65 cm. Base: 18 Ø cm Globe: approx. Ø 22 cm Mater...
Stone, Crystal, Quartz, Granite, Brass
Here Comes the Sun Medium White Pendant Lamp by Bertrand Balas
Located in Geneve, CH
Here comes the sun medium white pendant lamp by Bertrand Balas Dimensions: D 25 x H 25 cm Materials: Aluminum Available in different sizes and colors. All our lamps can be wire...
Aluminum
$5,489 / item
28.5 Pendant by Bocci
Located in Geneve, CH
28.5 pendant by Bocci Dimensions: D 20.3 x H 300 cm Materials: white round canopy Weight: 7.5 kg Also available in different dimensions. All our lamps can be wired according to ...
Nickel
$17,400 / set
Angelo Brotto for Esperia Large Pendants
By Esperia, Angelo Brotto
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Angelo Brotto for Esperia, pendant lights, glass, brass, Italy, 1970s Exuding elegance in every aspect, Angelo Brotto's design captivates the eye. Suspended from a brass fixture, a ...
Brass
Vico Magistretti Pair of Lyndon wall lamps for Oluce, Italy 1980s
Located in Milan, IT
Vico Magistretti Pair of indoor or outdoor Lyndon wall lamps for Oluce, Italy 1980s
Metal
Tukiainen Aimo Ossi Kalevi Table Lamp Copper Finland 1970 Post Modern Brutalist
Located in Lège Cap Ferret, FR
A freeform copper table lamp designed by Tukiainen Aimo Ossi Kalevi and produced by Oy Moonlight, Finland, 1970s. Bulb Specifications: E-27 Bulb Number of Sockets: 1 All lighting w...
Metal, Copper
Axel Chay Phallus Table Lamp Blue Lacquered Steel Glass Postmodern
Located in Lisboa, PT
The Phallus table lamp by French designer Axel Chay is a sculptural and collectible design object that operates at the intersection of postmodern design, surrealist influence, and co...
Brass, Steel
$1,437 / item
Parefeuille Wall Light by Bosc Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Parefeuille Wall Light by Bosc Design Dimensions: W 17 x D 7 x H 32 cm Materials: Brass finish, marine varnish. It all started years ago. They were about to complete an architectu...
Brass
$2,551 / item
Folia Wall Lamp by Federico Stefanovich
Located in Geneve, CH
Folia Wall Lamp by Federico Stefanovich. Dimensions: W 29 x D 7 x H 38 cm. Material: Cast Bronze, Brass. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it ...
Brass, Bronze
One of the Ten Glass Aluminium Triangle Shaped Wall Lights, Artemide, 1984
By Artemide
Located in Rijssen, NL
One of the 10 glass and metal sconces named Icaro designed by Carlo Forcolini 1984 executed by Artemide, Italy. Great Italian design, made of clear cut-glass and perforated aluminium...
Aluminum
$1,066Sale Price|20% Off
Post Modern Ceiling Light / Wall Light in the Style of Toshiyuki Kita, 1980s
Located in Roma, IT
A Post modern wall light, made in Italy during the Memphis Era, and therefore made, in the full taste of the 80s with vivid colors and playful s...
Metal
$1,507 / item
MMM Layla Table Lamp by MM Lampadari
Located in Geneve, CH
MMM Layla Table Lamp by MM Lampadari Dimensions: Ø 17 x H 33 cm. Materials: Crystal and filigree. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it will be...
Crystal, Other
Post Modern Adjustable Floor Lamp
By Arteluce, Clover Lamp Company
Located in New York, NY
Chic post modern adjustable floor lamp, having a brass center pole, which extends to raise and lower the shade. The hood shade adjusts up and down, and the black hood shade can be t...
Brass, Steel
$2,150 / item
Ceiba Lamp
Located in Mérida, MX
This lamp reads as a small ceramic totem that lives somewhere between the domestic object and sculpture. Its compact, archetypal conical silhouette can evoke a popular mexican tree...
Clay, Resin
$8,082 / item
'Patroclo' Tablelamp by Gae Aulenti
By Artemide, Gae Aulenti
Located in Brussels, BE
Patroclo is much more than a lamp—it’s a true design icon by Gae Aulenti. A striking meeting of glass and metal, it blends transparency with strength in a way that feels both delicat...
Steel
Set of 2 Murano glass wall lamps by Aureliano Toso for Itre, 1975
By Aureliano Toso, ITRE
Located in modena, Emilia-Romagna
The 2 polychrome wall sconces offered here were made with the complex technique of incalmo, a technique used to heat join two or more pieces of blown glass, often of different colors...
Steel
$1,414 / item
Paper Lamp in Aluminium by Six Dots Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Paper Lamp in Aluminium by Six Dots Design. Unique Piece. Dimensions: W 25 x D 20 x H 45 cm. Materials: Raw aluminum. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold t...
Aluminum
Postmodern Vintage Black Floor Lamp by Carlo Forcolini 1989 for Artemide Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
A Postmodern vintage black floor lamp, which was designed by Carlo Forcolini 1989 for Artemide, Italy. It is labeled underneath the base: Art...
Metal
Beautiful 1970s Limburg glass ceiling lamp in octagon shape, Model 2756
Located in München, BY
Beautiful original 1970s glass ceiling lamp in an octagonal shape. Manufacturer: Limburg, Model: 2761. Very high-quality workmanship. Made in Germany. Mounts directly to the ceiling...
Brass
Post modern adjustable lamp by Herda, Netherlands 1980s
By Herda, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Group
Located in ECHT, NL
Post modern design desk lamp. Made by Dutch company Herda in the 1980s. Made from wood and metal. I has a halogen bulb that is dimmable by a turn knob on the base. The lamp in full ...
Metal
Italian Postmodern Adjustable Floor Lamp by Barbaglia & Colombo
By Mario Barbaglia and Marco Colombo, PAF Studio
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Italian adjustable Post-Modern floor lamp by Mario Barbaglia and Marco Colombo for PAF Studio. The top half is lite gray powder coated and the bottom half is satin black. In origina...
Steel
$4,708 / item
Roller 100 Pendant Lamp by United Alabaster
Located in Geneve, CH
Roller 100 Pendant Lamp by United Alabaster Dimensions: D 100 x W 10 x H 8,5 cm (Customizable Height) Materials: Alabaster, Copper (Matt Black finish) Also Available: Satin Gold, Nic...
Alabaster, Copper
Asymmetrical Satin Glass Post Modern Light Fixture Made in Italy by Foscarini
By Foscarini
Located in New York, NY
Chic Post Modern Italian design frosted glass pendant chandelier by noted and respected maker, Foscarini, circa 2000 -2010. The fixture is in very fine, original, clean and working c...
Metal
Table Lamp “Bugia” by Giuseppe Cormio for iGuzzini, Italy, 1980s
By iGuzzini
Located in Hagenbach, DE
The “Bugia” table lamp, designed by Giuseppe Cormio for iGuzzini in the 1980s, is a standout example of Italian postmodern lighting design. With its name meaning "candle" or "lie" in...
Metal, Aluminum
$4,290 / item
Sculptural Light No. 34 by Milla Vaahtera
Located in Geneve, CH
Sculptural light no. 34 by Milla Vaahtera Dimensions: D 13 x W 60 x H 82 cm Materials: glass, brass In 2020 Milla Vaahtera started a series of un...
Brass
Vintage German Postmodern Metal Pendant Lamp from Cosack
Located in Hamburg, DE
Elegant perforated plate drawbar pendant lamp from the German manufacturer Cosack Leuchten from the 80s. Particularly striking about this lamp is the play with the transparency of t...
Metal
Postmodern White Metal Halogen Flush Mount by Blauet, Barcelona, 1980s
By Blauet
Located in Badajoz, Badajoz
Pretty Postmodern Spanish white metal Flush Mount or Wall Sconce by Blauet. Model: Birimbao-2. This fixture was designed and manufactured in Barcelona (Spain) by Blauet during 1980s....
Metal
1980’s Italian Gilded Pottery Lamp by Emilia Palomba
Located in Chicago, IL
1980’s handmade Italian Brutalist pottery table lamp with acrylic base. Made by Emilia Palomba in her studio in Cagliari Sardinia. Signed
Pottery, Acrylic
$955Sale Price|20% Off
French Riviera style. Pineapple ceramic table lamp by Bassano, Italy, 1980s
By Bassano, Hispania CH, Cerámicas BONDIA
Located in SANT ADRIÀ DE BESÒS, ES
Post-Modern and Hollywood Regency style ceramic table lamp by Bassano, Italy, 1980s. Hand-crafted in white glazed ceramic with brass structure, with its original pleated and wavy han...
Metal, Brass
Brass & Glass Chandelier by Vaughan Lighting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Solid brass and hand-blown glass lantern light designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom by Vaughan Designs. The piece has beautiful lines and is perfect for mid-century to ...
Brass
$809Sale Price / set|65% Off
Large Postmodern Pair of Gold Glass Wall Sconces by Estiluz, Barcelona, 1980s
By Leonardo Marelli, Estiluz Lighting, Estiluz
Located in Badajoz, Badajoz
Unique and cool Postmodern Pair of Large Wall Sconces by Leonardo Marelli for Estiluz. These Lamps are made in Barcelona (Spain) by Estiluz during 1980s. The condition is excellent, ...
Metal, Brass
Set of 2 Italian Postmodern Murana Sconces Perry King S. Miranda Arteluce 1980s
By Arteluce, Perry King and Santiago Miranda
Located in Hamburg, DE
Two Murana sconces by renowned manufacturer Arteluce, designed by Perry A. King and S. Miranda in the 1980s. Rare icons of postmodern design. These wall lamps were also used in the c...
Metal
Postmodern German Table Lamp from Hillebrand, 1980s
By Hillebrand
Located in Hamburg, DE
Very rare table lamp from Hillebrand. The particularly flat glass shade with the large radius on the edge is striking. The round shade rests on a frame that is connected to the cyli...
Glass
$4,232Sale Price / item|20% Off
Profana Sculptural Floor Lamp • Handmade Edition Steel • by Pedro Paulo-Venzon
Located in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina
According to Giorgio Agamben, to profane is to bring into the human realm that which was only devoted to the gods. This discussion about inversion is the point of departure for Prof...
Steel
LOP Small Square Red by BằNG - Unboring Object
Located in Geneve, CH
LOP Small Square Red by BằNG - Unboring Object Dimensions: W 18 x D 19.5 x H 18 cm. Materials: Casted acrylic, stainless steel, matte opal glass. Light bulb included and replaceabl...
Stainless Steel
$2,761 / item
Kavanagh WS Wall Lamp by United Alabaster
Located in Geneve, CH
Kavanagh WS Wall Lamp by United Alabaster Dimensions: D 12 x W 6 x H 53 cm (Customizable Height) Materials: Alabaster, Copper (Matt Black finish) Also Available: Satin Gold, Nickel, ...
Alabaster, Copper
$1,440Sale Price / set|40% Off
Luci Accademia Wall Lamp Postmodern Style pair
By luci, Shigeaki Asahara
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Accademia postmodern style wall lamp. Designed by Asahara Shigeaki in the 80s. The combination of transparent glass and black steel equipment are real...
Steel