Locus Solus Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, 1970s
View Similar Items
Locus Solus Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, 1970s
About the Item
- Creator:Poltronova (Manufacturer),Gae Aulenti (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 13.78 in (35 cm)Width: 33.08 in (84 cm)Depth: 33.08 in (84 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Condition - Good Comments - Light wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Ixelles, BE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7251234505542
Gae Aulenti
The Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti will forever be best remembered for her work with museums, in particular her 1980–86 renovation of a Beaux Arts Paris train station to create the galleries of the Musée d’Orsay. Aulenti — whose first name, short for Gaetana, is pronounced “guy” — should also be recalled for her tough intellectual spirit and for working steadily when few women found successful architectural careers in postwar Italy.
After she graduated from the Milan Polytechic in 1954, Aulenti opened an architectural office. She also joined the staff of the progressive architectural magazine Casabella, whose editorial line was that the establishment, orthodox modernism of Le Corbusier and the Bauhaus, had outlived it usefulness. When their movement for fresh approaches to architecture and design received a sympathetic hearing, Aulenti found patrons — most prominently Gianni Agnelli, of Fiat, who later employed her to renovate the Palazzo Grassi in Venice for use as an arts exhibition space.
Commissions for showrooms and other corporate spaces brought Aulenti to furniture design. She felt that furniture should never dominate a room. Her chairs and sofas — low-slung, with rounded enameled metal frames and ample seats — and tables, particularly her 1972 marble Jumbo coffee table for Knoll, project solidity and sturdiness. In lighting design, however, Aulenti is bravura. Each work has a marvelous sculptural presence. Pieces such as her Pipistrello table lamp and Quadrifoglio pendant are a perfect marriage of organically shaped glass and high-tech fixtures. Others have a futuristic elegance — and some even have a touch of personality. Aulenti’s Pileino and La Ruspa table lamps each look almost like little robots. Her lighting pieces are an artful grace note in the career of a woman who believed in strength.
Poltronova
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.
- Stringa 2-seater Leather Sofa by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, 1960sBy Gae Aulenti, PoltronovaLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Gae Aulenti Producer - Poltronova Model - Stringa 2-seater Sofa Design Period - Sixties Measurements - Width 132 cm x Depth 90 cm x Height 74 cm x Seat Height 40 cm Mater...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal, Chrome
- Pair of 54 L Armchairs by Gae Aulenti for Knoll International, 1970sBy Knoll, Gae AulentiLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Gae Aulenti Producer - Knoll Model - 54 L Armchairs Design Period - Seventies Measurements - Width 70 cm x Depth 61 cm x Height 77 cm x Seat Height 35 cm Materials - Leat...Category
Vintage 1970s German Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pianura Coffee Table by Mario Bellini for Cassina, 1970sBy Cassina, Mario BelliniLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Mario Bellini Producer - Cassina Model - Pianura Coffee Table Design Period - Seventies Measurements - Width 80 cm x Depth 80 cm x Heig...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
- Pair of Gli Scacchi Coffee Tables by Mario Bellini for C&B Italia, 1970sBy C&B Italia, Mario BelliniLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Mario Bellini Producer - B&B Italia Model - Gli Scacchi coffee tables Design Period - Seventies Measurements - Width 90 cm x Depth 31 cm x Height 37 cm Materials - Polyur...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsPlastic
- Plana Folding Table by Giancarlo Piretti for Castelli, 1970sBy Giancarlo Piretti, Anonima CastelliLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Giancarlo Piretti Producer - Anonima Castelli Model - Plana Folding Table Design Period - Seventies Measurements - Width 113 cm x Depth 113 cm x Height 72 cm / Folded Wid...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Saffo Table Lamp by Angelo Mangiarotti for Artemide, 1970sBy Artemide, Angelo MangiarottiLocated in Ixelles, BruxellesDesigner - Angelo Mangiarotti Producer - Artemide Model - Saffo Table Lamp Design Period - Seventies Measurements - Width 21 cm x Depth 21 cm x Height 33 cm Materials - Glass, Alumi...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Gae Aulenti for Poltronova 'Locus Solus' Table in Lacquered MetalBy Poltronova, Gae AulentiLocated in Waalwijk, NLGae Aulenti for Poltronova Locus Solus, yellow lacquered metal, Italy, 1963 The Locus Solus table, a design crafted by the visionary Gae Aulenti in 1963. This iconic piece, made in ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 20th Century Gae Aulenti for Poltronova Table mod. Locus SolusBy Gae Aulenti, PoltronovaLocated in Turin, TurinGae Aulenti was an Italian designer and architect who was active in furniture design, graphic design, lighting design and interior design. She was known for her contribution to the d...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Locus Solus, Gae Aulenti, Single Low TableBy Gae AulentiLocated in Milano, LombardiaMade of steel and fabrics with original and novel patterns, Locus Solus is the collection designed by the unpredictable flair of Gae Aulenti in 1964. The frame of Locus Solus Chair is made of painted stainless steel tubing. The light and colorful structure is reminiscent of a cylinder drawn in the air. For a dynamic and impactful style. This orange bench...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Walnut ‘Arcata’ Coffee Table by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova, Italy 1960sBy Poltronova, Gae AulentiLocated in Chicago, ILAn ‘Arcata’ coffee table designed by Gae Aulenti for Poltronova in the 1960s. This sculptural table was constructed with beautifully grained walnut and features demilune cutout detai...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Midcentury Coffee Table Lknoll, Gae Aulenti, Italy, 1970sBy Gae Aulenti, KnollLocated in Praha, CZ- marked - practical - rare type.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Gae Aulenti Metal Grey Table Locus Solos MidcenturyBy Gae AulentiLocated in Vienna, ATGae Aulenti metal grey table locus solos midcentury. Nice light grey bedside or garden table with perforated tray. Fair to good original condition, s...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel