Gio Ponti

GIO PONTI (Milan, 1891 - 1979).
Office chair, 1950s.
Metal and black leather upholstery.
Measurements: 77 x 45 x 45 cm; 43 cm (seat height).

Mid-century office chair designed by Gio Ponti. With a daring concept, the star-shaped base sits on casters. The tubular structure supports a backrest upholstered in leather, matching the seat. This is a significant piece in the industrial design of the 1950s, in which Milan was an important capital.

Architect, designer and academic, Gio Ponti is, along with Ettore Sottsass, the leader of the Italian designers of the twentieth century most sought after by collectors. In addition to the elegance of his furniture, sensitive to functionality, but original at the same time, Ponti is recognized for his volcanic creativity, which led him to produce and design until the 1970s. His ability to give voice to new trends made him the "inventor" of the Made in Italy design concept. Ponti studied architecture at the Politecnico. After World War I, in which he had to serve, he worked as artistic director for the respected ceramic manufacturing company Richard-Ginori. Between 1923 and 1927 he partnered with architects Mino Fiocchi and Emilio Lancia, opening his own studio in 1928, and founded the famous design magazine Domus, through whose pages (and those of Lo Stile, a magazine he would found and edit in the 1940s) Ponti influenced international taste in design for more than fifty years. By 1933, Ponti partnered with engineers Antonio Fornaroli and Eugenio Soncini to create the Ponti-Fornaroli-Soncini studio, which firmly embraced the modernist aesthetic and worked until 1945. In 1950, Ponti was awarded the commission for what would become one of the iconic buildings of the 20th century, the 32-story Pirelli Tower in Milan. Throughout his career, Ponti played many different roles: architect, industrial designer, craftsman, teacher, painter, editor and journalist.