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"Metaphora" Black Marquina Marble & Glass Coffee Table by Lella & M. Vignelli

Name: "Metaphora" Black Marquina Marble & Glass Coffee Table by Lella & M. Vignelli
Brand: Massimo and Lella Vignelli
Price: 6590.21 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

Impressive metaphora coffee table in very good condition and with a great patina! This coffee table was designed by Lella & Massimo Vignelli in 1979. Four forms of the Euclidean geometry, the cube, the cylinder, the sphere and the pyramid, made of black marquina marble, represent the basis of the table. The marble forms support a thick clear glass top of 1,5 cm. The four elements are independent and can be positioned freely, without the table losing its own identity regardless the position of the elements it consists of. Lella Vignelli (born Elena Valle, August 13, 1934 – December 22, 2016) was an Italian architect, designer, and businesswoman. She collaborated closely throughout much of her life with her husband Massimo Vignelli, with whom she founded Vignelli Associates in 1971. She was known for the "spare, elegant style" of her architectural and Industrial Design work, as well as her management skills and entrepreneurial expertise. She is famously quoted as saying that, "If you do it right, it will last forever." Starting in the mid-1950s, Lella Vignelli's professional concentration was interior, furniture, and product design. She was also involved in the formation of the ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale), an Italian professional design organization which was founded in 1956. Some of the Vignellis' notable designs from this period are their brand identity commissions for clients such as Knoll International, for which they led a comprehensive review of the company's visual presence starting in 1965; the graphic identity and logo of American Airlines, designed in 1967; as well the design of as a collection of melamine plastic stacking dinnerware for Articoli Plastici Elettrici in 1964 (later marketed in America by Heller). The Vignelli Stacking Dinnerware was still in production in 2023, nearly 60 years after it was first introduced. In 1971, the Vignellis established Vignelli Associates and opened offices in New York, Paris, and Milan. The firm's commissions included corporate identity programmes for Bloomingdale's department store in 1972, Lancia automobiles in 1978, and Ducati motorcycles in 1992, as well as the signage system for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997. Lella continued to focus on the three-dimensional design work of the practice, and also served as Chief Executive. In 1978, the Vignellis founded Vignelli Designs, a separate company which focused on product and furniture design, and for which Lella served as president. Their furniture designs included the Handkerchief chair for Knoll (1985); the Serenissimo table (1985) for Italian manufacturer Acerbis; and the Magic coffee table (1990) for Acerbis's lower-priced Morphos label. Other Vignelli designs have included retail layouts for Artemide, jewelry for Cleto Munari, and glassware for Venini and Steuben Glass Works.

Creator:

Massimo and Lella Vignelli (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 10.24 in (26 cm)Width: 47.25 in (120 cm)Depth: 47.25 in (120 cm)

Style:

Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Glass,Marble

Place of Origin:

Italy

Period:

1970-1979

Date of Manufacture:

1979

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use.

Seller Location:

Firenze, IT

Reference Number:

Seller: Metaphora Squared Coffee Table by L & M Vignelli1stDibs: LU2142333477362

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Shop All Massimo and Lella Vignelli

Massimo and Lella Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli and Lella Vignelli’s legacy can be seen everywhere in the logos of Bloomingdale’s, Ford and American Airlines, among others. In addition to their work in branding, they were prolific creators of modernist home furnishings, products and interiors, and the duo’s collaborations, which span 50 years, have left a profound mark on design and wider visual culture.

After meeting in Italy, Lella (1934–2016) and Massimo (1931–2014) began working together in 1961 and a decade later formed Vignelli Associates in New York. A self-described “information architect,” Massimo was committed to streamlining complex ideas into clear, visually arresting forms. (Witness the graphic identity that he cocreated with Bob Noorda for the New York City Transit Authority as well as his influential 1972 subway map.) The Vignellis’ most recognizable piece, for example, may be the Handkerchief chair, a stackable office chair made of compression-molded plastic that has the look of a cloth floating in air. It was created for Knoll in 1983 after they designed the brand’s logo.

Evidence of the couple’s influence can also be found in their Saratoga line (1964), the first collection of lacquered furniture, which helped herald in the trendy “glossy” look of the decade (and beyond). When the Vignellis created the Poltrona Frau Interview chair in 1988 for an Italian television station, it became widely sought after, “which goes to show you the power of the TV media,” the couple once said. Much like their elemental graphic designs, the Kono (1984) and Pisa tables (1985) — both created for Casigliani — cull the form of the table down to geometric shapes.

Vignelli furniture is often labeled as Massimo Vignelli’s alone, though he fought to have Lella recognized for her work, even throwing away magazines that neglected to give her due credit. As he wrote of their lifelong collaboration in his book Designed By: Lella Vignelli: “It is not holding a pencil with four hands that makes a partnership; it is sharing the creative act and exercising creative criticism which is reflected in the end result.”

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