The brainchild of the Fratelli Gugliermetto company, Gufram was born in 1966 in Turin, Italy, massively inspired by the avant-garde artistic culture that reigned in Europe during the 1960s and '70s. The brand is known for its CACTUS coat stand and sculptural seating such as the Pratone chair as well as other massive, innovative pieces that fall somewhere between art and furniture.
Starting in the mid-1960s, proponents of Italian Radical Design — which included forward-looking collectives like Archizoom and Studio 65 — broke with formality and convention by fusing the joy of Pop art with the systems of mass production.
One of the brands that formed as a result of these experiments was Gufram, a manufacturer at the forefront of the country’s Radical Design movement. The Gugliermetto brothers teamed up with emerging artists to harness exciting new materials — among them, polyurethane foam, which was originally used in the transportation industry as insulation to keep buses and trains warm.
Despite being credited for revolutionizing Italian design, until the mid-1970s, Gufram was largely unknown outside the small Italian town where it was founded. Nearly six years after the brand’s inception, though, word got out about a furniture brand transforming polyurethane foam into gigantic works of art. So, Gufram brought its playful and witty design concept across the Atlantic to New York’s Museum of Modern Art, where it had its first international show.
Gufram produced much of the Pop furniture — the CACTUS coat rack by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello and the Bocca sofa, in the shape of big red lips, by Studio 65 — that came to define the Anti-Design movement. (Through a relationship with Gufram, the latter was imported to the United States by Charles Stendig, a collector and pioneering importer who helped spark America’s interest in furniture from Finland, Switzerland and Italy during the 1960s and ‘70s.)
Although furniture can be serious business, it’s just as often playful, provocative, energizing and even liberating. Perhaps nothing embodies these characteristics better than postmodern Italian design. And one of the most iconic pieces to originate during Italy’s fertile period of postmodern furniture design is the Pratone chair, designed in 1971 by Giorgio Ceretti, Piero Derossi and Riccardo Rosso.
Representing a magnified portion of a grassy meadow, the Pratone chaise provides a lounging place for an individual or a group. “It is so unlike anything else that it stands out and is still iconic after 50 years,” said Charley Vezza, Gufram’s global creative orchestrator.
Made of painted polyurethane foam, the Pratone chair immediately became the symbol of a new and different approach to interiors when it debuted.
Gufram has become a favorite of the international art crowd and glitterati, and its products have made their way to the world’s most renowned museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vitra Design Museum and more.
British fashion designer Paul Smith and American multi-hyphenate artist A$AP Rocky have collaborated with Gufram over the years. Interior designer Tony Ingrao has called the Pratone chair one of his favorite works and featured the larger-than-life piece in an exhibition he curated at R & Company in 2016.
Find new and vintage Gufram chairs, sofas, mirrors and other Gufram furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Grass, by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$2,400 / item
Gufram, Grey Detecma Lounge Chair By Tullio Regge
By Tullio Regge, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Its name, an acronym for Design, Technique and Mathematics, identifies by itself some of the characteristics that make this seat unique. These three values were united for the first ...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Midnight, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Yellow, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence that it was photographed by important photographers such as David La Chapelle...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram MAgriTTA Sculpture Jaune Armchair by Sebastián Matta
By Gufram Furniture, Sebastian Matta
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
MAgriTTA is the designer's tribute to the surrealist artist René Magritte. Its shape is also a replica seat of the British bowler hat, and the surface material is faux lambskin fabri...
Foam, Polyester
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Rice, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Biscuit, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram MAgriTTA Sculpture Rouge Armchair by Sebastián Matta
By Gufram Furniture, Sebastian Matta
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
MAgriTTA is the designer's tribute to the surrealist artist René Magritte. Its shape is also a replica seat of the British bowler hat, and the surface material is faux lambskin fabri...
Foam, Polyester
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Steel, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram, 'Bocca Unlimited' Lip-Shaped Sofa, 721-Grey, by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence that it was photographed by important photographers such as David La Chapelle...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram Puffo Stool by Gruppo Sturm Ceretti & Rosso, 65/1000
By Riccardo Rosso, Piero Derossi and Giorgio Ceretti, Gufram Furniture
Located in Aachen, NW
Rare Puffo stool designed by Gruppo Sturm (Ceretti, Derossi & Rosso) and made by Gufram in Italy, 1986. The stool was made in a limited edition of only 1000 pieces worldwide. This s...
Foam
Gufram Puffo Stool by Gruppo Sturm Ceretti & Rosso, 72/1000
By Riccardo Rosso, Piero Derossi and Giorgio Ceretti, Gufram Furniture
Located in Aachen, NW
Rare Puffo stool designed by Gruppo Sturm (Ceretti, Derossi & Rosso) and made by Gufram in Italy, 1986. The stool was made in a limited edition of only 1000 pieces worldwide. This s...
Foam
$1,250 / item
Gufram the End Stool by Tolietpaper, White
By Toiletpaper, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Toiletpaper is a famous Italian independent magazine co-founded by contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. The colourful and bold content aims to cr...
Other
$1,200 / item
Gufram the End Stool by Tolietpaper, Grey
By Toiletpaper, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Toiletpaper is a famous Italian independent magazine co-founded by contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari. The colourful and bold content aims to cr...
Other
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Artic, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence that it was photographed by important photographers such as David La Chapelle...
Fabric, Upholstery
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Apricot, by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Walnut, by Studio 65
By Studio 65, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence that it was photographed by important photographers such as David La Chapelle...
Fabric, Upholstery
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Chocolate, by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$5,800 / item
Gufram, Bocca Lip-Shaped Sofa, Oatmeal, by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram’s. More than any other, this object of design represents the perfect abstraction of feminine beauty. It is no coincidence th...
Fabric, Upholstery
$6,300 / item
Gufram Broken Bench by Snarkitecture, Grey
By Gufram Furniture, Snarkitecture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Broken Series consists of broken mirror, broken square mirror, and broken bench. Each item is available in three colors: Grey, black (limited edition of 7...
Plastic, Rubber
Price Upon Request
Gufram Nordic Pratone Chaise Lounge by Ceretti, Derossi & Rosso
By Gufram Furniture, Riccardo Rosso, Piero Derossi and Giorgio Ceretti
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
A unique and unconventional chaise lounge that has as yet found no ersatz, Pratone has become a reference parameter in the history of design. Included by Vitra Design Museum among th...
Foam
Price Upon Request
Gufram Boccadoro Couch in Gold by Studio 65
By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65
Located in La Morra, Cuneo
Bocca, the original 1970 lips-shaped couch is only Gufram's. This sensual couch, which is ideal for a tête-à-tête, has entered the collective imagination on par with Andy Warhol's works, as well as other pop art masterpieces...
Textile
Price Upon Request
"Pratone" Lounge Chair for Gufram, Italy 1971.
By Gufram Furniture
Located in New York, NY
"Pratone" lounge chair, designed by Pietro Derossi, Giorgio Ceretti and Riccardo Rosso, 1966, produced starting in 1971 by Gufram, still in production. This example produced by Gufra...
PVC