Superleggera Chair by Gio Ponti
View Similar Items
Superleggera Chair by Gio Ponti
About the Item
- Creator:Gio Ponti (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.68 in (83 cm)Width: 16.15 in (41 cm)Depth: 15.75 in (40 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:grand Lancy, CH
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1045012266861
Gio Ponti
An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti (1891–1979) designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, lamps and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre. In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
His signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.) Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of Gio Ponti furniture on 1stDibs.
- French Alp ChairLocated in grand Lancy, CHFrench alp chair.Category
Antique Early 19th Century French Chairs
MaterialsWood
$1,200 - decorative folding chairLocated in grand Lancy, CHdecorative folding chairCategory
Early 20th Century Swiss Chairs
MaterialsWood
- French alp chairLocated in grand Lancy, CHFrench alp chairCategory
Antique 19th Century French Chairs
MaterialsWood
$1,200 - French Alp, folk art , ChairLocated in grand Lancy, CHFrench alp, folk art , chair.Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
- Swedish Folk Art Wood ChairLocated in grand Lancy, CHSwedish Folk Art wood chair.Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Set of 6 Art Deco chairsLocated in grand Lancy, CHSet of 6 Art Deco dinning chairs wood and straw nice patinaCategory
Vintage 1930s European Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
$3,800 / set
- Set d 6 chairs Superleggera, Gio Ponti, CassinaBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, LombardiaThis incredible set of 6 Superleggera chairs designed by Gio Ponti for Cassina in 1950 embodies the elegance and lightness of modern aesthetics. These iconic chairs feature clean, sl...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsStraw, Wood
$18,454 / set - Gio Ponti Superleggera chairs Cassina Italy 1957By Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Roosendaal, Noord BrabantRare set of 6 original Superleggera (super light) chairs designed by Gio Ponti and manufactured by Cassina in Italy in 1957. The 699 Superleggera, which has been a star in Cassina's ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
$10,920 / set - Desk Sculptural Chair, Superleggera by Gio Ponti, 1960s, IconicBy Gio Ponti, CassinaLocated in Milano, ITGiò Ponti probably needs no introduction: he's been arguably the most influential personality in italian design and architecture for almost three decades, from the Fifties throughout...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Wood
$1,310 Sale Price20% Off - Gio Ponti “ Superleggera” N. 4, Chair Wood Straw Padding, 1950, ItalyBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITN . 4 Superleggera Gio Ponti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Gio Ponti “ Superleggera” N. 4, Chair Wood Straw Padding, 1950, ItalyBy Gio PontiLocated in Milano, ITN . 4 Superleggera Gio Ponti.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Other Chairs
MaterialsWood, Straw
- Italian Design Classic Gio Ponti, Superleggera Chair, Cassina, 2000sBy Cassina, Gio PontiLocated in Renens, CHThe "699 Superleggera" chair is an iconic design created by the renowned Italian architect and designer Gio Ponti. Designed in 1957, this chair is celebrated for its lightweight (j...Category
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Ash
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Barnaba Fornasetti’s Hallucinatory House Has His Father’s Spirit
Behind a nondescript facade in northeastern Milan is the magical residence of Barnaba Fornasetti. It's a shrine to the style developed by his design-legend father, which still defies categorization.
Billy Cotton Layers His Interiors with Lived-In Comfort
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.