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Post-Modern Armchairs

POSTMODERN STYLE

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

  • Emerges during the 1960s; popularity explodes during the ’80s
  • A reaction to prevailing conventions of modernism by mainly American architects
  • Architect Robert Venturi critiques modern architecture in his Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966)
  • Theorist Charles Jencks, who championed architecture filled with allusions and cultural references, writes The Language of Post-Modern Architecture (1977)
  • Italian design collective the Memphis Group, also known as Memphis Milano, meets for the first time (1980) 
  • Memphis collective debuts more than 50 objects and furnishings at Salone del Milano (1981)
  • Interest in style declines, minimalism gains steam

CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Dizzying graphic patterns and an emphasis on loud, off-the-wall colors
  • Use of plastic and laminates, glass, metal and marble; lacquered and painted wood 
  • Unconventional proportions and abundant ornamentation
  • Playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art

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 Mendinia 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.

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Style: Post-Modern
Cover Navy Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover navy armchair by MOWEE. Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm). Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available i...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Cover Bronze Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover bronze armchair by MOWEE. Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm) Material: aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors and finish...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Cover Burgundy Armchair by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover Burgundy armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm) Material: Aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also availa...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Cover Grey Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover grey armchair by MOWEE. Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm) Material: aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in ...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Cover Black Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover black armchair by MOWEE. Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm). Material: aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors and finish...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Cover Cream Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Cover cream armchair by MOWEE. Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48 cm). Material: aluminium and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors and finish...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature Black Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Black Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature Navy Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Navy Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also ...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature Chocolate Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Chocolate Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different co...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature White Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature White Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature Cream Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Cream Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Nature Salmon Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Nature Salmon Armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W67 x H83 cm (seat height 42 cm). Material: Aluminum, upholstery and Iroko Wood. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different color...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons Bronze Armchair by MOWEE
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons bronze armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D60 x W62 x H83 cm (seat height 48). Material: Aluminum and upholstery. Weight: 5 kg. Also available in different colors and finishes...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons Cream Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons cream armchair by Mowee. Dimensions: D83 x W91 x H81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminium, Upholstery Weight: 20 kg Also Available in different colours and finishes...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons White Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons white armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W91 x H81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 20 kg Also Available in different colours and finishes. ...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons Chocolate Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons chocolate armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W91 x H81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 20 kg Also Available in different colors and finishe...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons Grey Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons grey armchair by Mowee. Dimensions: D83 x W91 x H81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm). Material: Aluminium, upholstery. Weight: 20 kg Also Available in different colours and finishe...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Ribbons Bronze Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Ribbons Bronze armchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D83 x W91 x H81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 20 kg Also Available in different colors and finishes. ...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Lace Burgundy Lounge Chair with Cushion by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Lace burgundy lounge chair with cushion by Mowee. Dimensions: D70 x W66 x H75.5 cm Material: Polyethylene, Stainless Steel Weight: 10.5 kg...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Stainless Steel, Other

Xaloc Navy Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Navy Amchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D 100 x W 102 x H 81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 29 kg Also available in different colours and finishes....
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Xaloc Silver Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Silver Amchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D 100 x W 102 x H 81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 29 kg Also available in different colours and finishe...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Xaloc Bronze Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Bronze Amchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D 100 x W 102 x H 81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 29 kg Also available in different colours and finishe...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Xaloc Black Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Black Amchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D 100 x W 102 x H 81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 29 kg Also available in different colours and finishes...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Xaloc Cream Armchair by Mowee
Located in Geneve, CH
Xaloc Cream Amchair by MOWEE Dimensions: D 100 x W 102 x H 81 cm (Seat Height 42 cm) Material: Aluminum, Upholstery Weight: 29 kg Also available in different colours and finishes...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Aluminum

Leather Armchair, Eli Gutiérrez
Located in Geneve, CH
Leather armchair by Eli Gutiérrez A cozy and embracing armchair, an incredible piece that converges in a perfect balance of volumes due to its unique structure and its rounded padde...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Iron

Elios Blue and Pink O2 Armchair by Babel Brune
Located in Geneve, CH
Elios Blue and Pink O2 armchair by Babel Brune Dimensions: D 63 x W 54 x H 67 cm, Seat H 35 cm. Material: Suede velvet 380g / m², steel. The O2 Elios armchair from Eté 83 collec...
Category

2010s French Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Steel

Eva Armchair by Domkapa
Located in Geneve, CH
Elba footrest by Domkapa Materials: Microfibers, Natural Ash. Dimensions: W 68 x D 78 x H 87 cm. Also available in different materials. Eva is an homage to the Portuguese trad...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Leather, Natural Fiber

Agora Petit Chair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Agora petit chair by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: 75 x 70 x 65 cm Available in different colors Inspired by the volumes of the upholstered furniture from the 1970s, Agora Petit is...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Leather Armchair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Leather armchair by Pepe Albargues A cozy and embracing armchair, an incredible piece that converges in a perfect balance of volumes due to its unique structure and its rounded padd...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Iron

Ara Armchair with Side Table by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Ara armchair with side table by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: W 74, D 74, H 125, Seat 43 Materials: Iron backrest structure and pine wood seat structure Foam CMHR (high resilience an...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Iron

Set of 3 Oslo Armchairs, Arctic Fox Throw & Pink by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
A Set of 3 Oslo armchairs - Arctic fox throw & pink by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: W65, D60, H73, Seat 44 Materials: Beech wood structure. Foam CMHR...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery, Foam, Wood

Oslo Armchair Arctic Fox Throw by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Oslo armchair - arctic fox throw by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: W65, D60, H73, Seat 44 Materials: Beech wood structure. Foam CMHR (high resilience and ...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery, Foam, Wood

Set of 2 Okapi Armchair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 okapi armchair by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: width 76 -depth 74 - height 102 - seat 40 cm Materials: Iron structure with plywood and tablex. Foam CMHR (high resilience an...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Iron

Pair of Oslo Armchair Arctic Fox Throw by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Pair of oslo armchair arctic fox throw by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: W 65, D 60, H 73, seat 44 Materials: beech wood structure. Foam CMHR (high resili...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery, Foam, Wood

Pair of Pigro Armchair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Pigro armchair by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: W83, D90, H77, Seat 42. Materials: Pine wood structure, tablex and particles board. Foam CMHR (high resilience and flame retardant) fo...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Oslo Chair, Grey by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Oslo chair - grey by Pepe Albargues. Dimensions: W59, D50, H75, Seat 46. Materials: Beech wood structure. Foam CMHR (high resilience and flame retardant) for all our cushion filli...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Fabric, Wood

Alice in Wonderland Armchair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Alice in Wonderland Armchair by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: Armchair 101 x 90 x 72 cm Puff 41 x 54 x 54 cm. Materials: Pine wood structure reinforced with plywood and table. Seat poly...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Polyester, Pine

Alice in Wonderland, Armchair by Pepe Albargues
Located in Geneve, CH
Alice in Wonderland, Armchair by Pepe Albargues Dimensions: Armchair 101 x 90 x 72 cm Puff 41 x 54 x 54 cm. Materials: Pine wood structure reinforced with plywood and table. Seat pol...
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Fabric

Embrace Cormo Indigo Armchair by Royal Stranger
Located in Geneve, CH
Embrace Cormo Indigo armchair by Royal Stranger Dimensions: W 96 x D 85 x H 68 cm. Different upholstery colors and finishes are available. Please conta...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Embrace Gentle 113 Armchair by Royal Stranger
Located in Geneve, CH
Embrace gentle 113 armchair by Royal Stranger Dimensions: W 96 x D 85 x H 68 cm. Different upholstery colors and finishes are available. Materials: Upholstery. Featuring an en...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Embrace Cormo Zinc Armchair by Royal Stranger
Located in Geneve, CH
Embrace cormo zinc armchair by Royal Stranger Dimensions: W 96 x D 85 x H 68 cm. Different upholstery colors and finishes are available. Materials: Up...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Embrace Lago Carcuma Armchair by Royal Stranger
Located in Geneve, CH
Embrace Lago Carcuma armchair by Royal Stranger Dimensions: W 96 x D 85 x H 68 cm. Different upholstery colors and finishes are available. Materials: Upholstery. Featuring an ...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Embrace Lago Lin Armchair by Royal Stranger
Located in Geneve, CH
Embrace Lago Lin armchair by Royal Stranger Dimensions: W 96 x D 85 x H 68 cm. Different upholstery colors and finishes are available. Materials: Upholstery. Featuring an enfolding composition of geometrical shapes, the Embrace Armchair will cozy you up in a nest-like chair. Its back rounded silhouette allied to a very smooth seat raises the perfect setting to fall asleep after a movie night. Its tiny dimension yet outstanding gives you the feeling of a warm embrace in all the right places. This smooth Armchair reflects both an obsession with comfort and contemporary design. Royal Stranger is an exclusive furniture brand determined to bring you the best unique pieces of art and design. Fusing design, art and the best craftsmanship, they strive to deliver the best state of the handmade art furniture. The design team works every day to create meaningful products that represent values such as passion, function, aesthetics and know-how. Values that are meant to represent Royal Stranger’s DNA. This dedication is present at all stages of production and the combination of craftsmanship and innovative design contributes to our final purpose: to produce certified high-quality products, made with passion and expertise and using royal materials such as gold leaf, rich woods and high quality lacquers. It was in 2013, as an architects, that Sofia Santos & Rui Santos started to push the boundaries of innovation in several retail design...
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Armchairs

Materials

Upholstery

Post-modern armchairs for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Post-Modern armchairs for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage armchairs created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include seating, building and garden elements, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, fabric and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Post-Modern armchairs made in a specific country, there are Europe, Italy, and Portugal pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original armchairs, popular names associated with this style include Royal Stranger, Pepe Albargues, Arturo Verástegui, and Gaetano Pesce. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for armchairs differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $300 and tops out at $78,000 while the average work can sell for $4,338.

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