Gae Aulenti

GAE AULENTI (Palazzolo dello Stella, Udine, 1927-Milan, 2012).
"Locus Solus daybed," c. 1960.
Steel and canvas.
Measurements: 70 x 200 x 68 cm.
With the design of the "Locus Solus" daybed or lounger, Gae Aulenti opted for a discreet and multifunctional refinement. Starting with a minimalist, chrome-plated tubular frame, he created a versatile piece that can function as a sofa, bed or lounger. The Locus Solus series, to which this lounger belongs, takes its name from Raymond Roussel's book. It was first designed in 1967 as a collection of outdoor furniture. Initially produced by Poltronova and then by Zanotta, it was later acquired by Exteta. The collection includes a chair, a table, an adjustable lamp, a sofa, a lounger and a bench.
Aulenti was inspired by the woodwork of the Sgarsul chair, an emblem of the neoliberty style, reinterpreting it in a pop key and exploring a visual language that broke with the rigors of functionalism. The result was a collection that parodied the tubular furniture of the 1960s, with sinuous and refined shapes that harmonize in every element of the series. Locus Solus was featured in the 1969 film La Piscine, directed by Jacques Deray, and the lounger from the collection was exhibited in the show A Creative Universe at the Vitra Design Museum, dedicated to prominent designers.
Gae Aulenti was a renowned Italian architect, celebrated for her cultural contributions. She began her career in the early 1950s and became one of the few prominent architects in postwar Italy. Although modernism was the predominant international architectural style for much of the 20th century, Aulenti departed from its tenets to embrace neoliberty, an architectural and design theory that advocated the importance of tradition and artistic freedom within modern aesthetics. Aulenti is widely recognized for the transformation of the Gare d'Orsay into the Musée d'Orsay, the Contemporary Art Gallery at the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the restoration of the Palazzo Grassi in Venice (1985-86). He also ventured into other disciplines, such as furniture, exhibitions, graphic design and interior design.