Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
No. 17 Set of 10 Circle blue/green/grey Pendant Lamps by Sander Bottinga
Located in Geneve, CH
No. 17 pendant lamp by Sander Bottinga Dimensions: H100 (custom size) x W122 x D48 cm Materials: brass, leather, wood, hand printed and painted linen. Composition made out of 10 p...
Brass
Mantis 9 Coffee and Olive Glass with Polished Bronze Pendant by Isabel Moncada
Located in Geneve, CH
Mantis 9 Coffee and Olive Glass with Polished Bronze Pendant Lamp by Isabel Moncada Dimensions: D 100 x W 190 x H 110 cm. Materials: Cast bronze, blown glass ...
Brass, Bronze
$1,482 / item
Bavovna S Pendant Lamp by Yalanzhi Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Bavovna S Pendant Lamp by Yalanzhi Objects Dimensions: D 50 x W 80 x H 18 cm. Materials: Cellulose. Cellulose is a recycled material that was once forest. A high-quality, durable ...
Other
$625 / item
Frank Ligtelijn for RAAK 'Globe' Pendants
By Frank Ligtelijn, RAAK, Peill & Putzler
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Frank Ligtelijn for RAAK Amsterdam by Peill & Putzle, B 1040-20 'Globe' Pendants, glass and aluminum, Netherlands, 1970s. Striking pendants d...
Aluminum
Organic Gradient Cluster of Crystal Large Pendant Light by Christopher Boots
Located in Geneve, CH
Large Goliath Pendant Light by Christopher Boots Dimensions: D 65 x W 75 x H 135 cm. Materials: Clear quartz, smoky quartz, gradient quartz. Available in different finishes. Availab...
Quartz
Paper Milk Large Pendant Light in Ash Wood & Industrial Rice Paper by KIMU
Located in Geneve, CH
Paper Milk Large Pendant Light in Ash Wood & Industrial Rice Paper by KIMU Unique Piece Dimensions: Ø 70 x H 45 cm. Materials: Ash wood and rice paper. Available in different sizes. Prices may vary. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA it will be wired for the USA for instance. Please contact us. “In Taiwanese life, the most overlooked thing is the lamp... it's hard to find old Taiwanese lamps...
Ash, Paper
$258 / item
Plate Classic Forest Pendant Lamp by +kouple
Located in Geneve, CH
Plate Classic Forest Pendant Lamp by +kouple Dimensions: Ø 18,4 x H 20,8 cm. Materials: Powder-coated steel. Available in different color options. The PVC cord length is 200 cm. Pl...
Steel
Gold Nebula Hand Painted Pendant Lamp by Mirei Monticelli
Located in Geneve, CH
Gold Nebula hand painted pendant lamp by Mirei Monticelli Dimensions: D 60 x W 60 x H 60 cm Materials: Banaca fabric Also available in hand pai...
Fabric
$564 / item
White Carmen Pendant Lamp S 50 by HARTO
Located in Geneve, CH
White Carmen Pendant Lamp S 50 by HARTO Dimensions: W 50 x D 3.2 x H 50 cm. Materials: Textile laminated on PET: 1 side 100% polyester / 1 side 100% cotton, Painted Metal. Weight: ...
Metal
Austrian Postmodern "Cocoon" Chandelier by EGLO Leuchten, 1990s
Located in Badajoz, Badajoz
Beauty Austrian "Cocoon" Chandelier. This Chandelier was designed during the 1990s in Austria by Eglo Leuchten. Original “Eglo” label still shows on the structure. This "Cocoon" Cha...
Metal
No. 21 Green Fringes Dip Dyed Contemporary Art Ceiling Lamp by Sander Bottinga
Located in Geneve, CH
Green charme pendant lamp, Sander Bottinga. Dimensions: H 65 (can be customized) x W 38 x D 25 cm. Hand sculpted in brass, leather, wood and dip dyed colored fringes in viscose. ...
Brass
Light Object 023 Pendant with 5 Light Tubes in Brass by Naama Hofman
By Naama Hofman
Located in Geneve, CH
Light Object 023 Pendant with 5 Light Tubes in Brass by Naama Hofman. Dimensions: W 224 x D 83 x H 83 cm. Materials: Brass, Acrylic tube. Light: flexible LED strip light, 16W, 24V. ...
Brass
Small Misalliance Ral Ultramarine Suspended Light by Lexavala
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Misalliance ral ultramarine suspended light by lexavala. Dimensions: D 16 x W 70 x H 8 cm Materials: powder coated aluminium. There are two lenghts of socket covers, exten...
Aluminum
$5,342 / item
38.3 Pendant by Bocci
Located in Geneve, CH
38.3 Pendant by Bocci Dimensions: D20.3 x H300 cm Materials: brushed nickel round canopy Weight: 8.2 kg Also available in different dimensions and models. All our lamps can be...
Nickel
$1,094 / item
Bright Barocco Pendant Lamp by Nordic Tales
Located in Geneve, CH
Bright Barocco Pendant Lamp by Nordic Tales Designed by Jonas Hoejgaard Dimensions: Ø 20 x H 20 cm. Materials: Glass and brass. Finish: Crema textile cord. All our lamps can be wire...
Brass
Postmodern Pair of Chandeliers by Estiluz by Leornado Marelli, Barcelona, 1980s
By Leonardo Marelli, Estiluz Lighting, Estiluz
Located in Badajoz, Badajoz
Cool Postmodern Pair of Chandeliers/Flushmounts by Leonardo Marelli for Estiluz. Model: T-1166 Negro. These fixtures were manufactured in Barcelona (Spain) during 1980s. The conditio...
Metal
Here Comes the Sun Medium White Pendant Lamp by Bertrand Balas
Located in Geneve, CH
Here comes the sun medium white pendant lamp by Bertrand Balas Dimensions: D 25 x H 25 cm Materials: Aluminum Available in different sizes and colors. All our lamps can be wire...
Aluminum
$1,680Sale Price / item|40% Off
Martinelli Luce Vera sculptural lighting Postmodern Style
By Paolo Orlandini, Martinelli Luce, Ingo Maurer
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Sculptural hanging light designed by Paolo Orlandini in 1980. Produced by Martinelli Luce. As changing position of the supporting ring and main rod, Position of the shade is change...
Steel
"Caifa Circular" by Lolli é Memmoli Crystal Chandelier, circa 2002
By Lolli e Memmoli
Located in View Park, CA
The “Caifa Circular" crystal chandelier by Ivan Lolli and Mario Memmoli, Milan circa 2002. In tones of sapphire, azure, and midnight blue, with diaphanous crystals adorning the inner...
Crystal, Metal, Chrome
LV-426 Horizontal Pendant in Patinated Cast Bronze by William Guillon
Located in Geneve, CH
LV-426 Horizontal Pendant in Patinated Cast Bronze by William Guillon Hand Sculpted, Dated and Signed Dimensions: L 152 x H 122 cm (custom dimensions upon request) Materials: Patinat...
Bronze
$258 / item
Plate Classic Almond Pendant Lamp by +kouple
Located in Geneve, CH
Plate Classic Almond Pendant Lamp by +kouple Dimensions: Ø 18,4 x H 20,8 cm. Materials: Powder-coated steel. Available in different color options. The PVC cord length is 200 cm. Pl...
Steel
Small Misalliance Ex Antique Pink Suspended Light by Lexavala
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Misalliance Ex antique pink suspended light by Lexavala Dimensions: D 16 x W 70 x H 8 cm Materials: powder coated shade with details made of brass or stainless steel. Ther...
Aluminum, Brass, Stainless Steel
Set of 3 Italian Post-Modern Pendant Lamps, Memphis Style, 1980s
Located in Argelato, BO
Set of 3 rare and colorful post-Modern Italian aluminum pendant lamps, Memphis Style, 1980s FOR SHIPPING, REQUEST US FOR RECEIVE THE BEST PRICE
Aluminum
Single Momentum Blown Glass Pendants by Alex de Witte
Located in Geneve, CH
Single momentum blown glass pendants by Alex de Witte Dimensions: 20 - 25 cm Materials: Mouth Blown Glass. Dimensions may vary. With the Momentum Alex...
Blown Glass
$5,565 / item
28.5 Pendant by Bocci
Located in Geneve, CH
28.5 pendant by Bocci Dimensions: D 20.3 x H 300 cm Materials: white round canopy Weight: 7.5 kg Also available in different dimensions. All our lamps can be wired according to ...
Nickel
Vintage German Postmodern Metal Pendant Lamp from Cosack
Located in Hamburg, DE
Elegant perforated plate drawbar pendant lamp from the German manufacturer Cosack Leuchten from the 80s. Particularly striking about this lamp is the play with the transparency of t...
Metal
$4,659 / item
Mayu 02 Pendant Light by Coco Flip
Located in Geneve, CH
Mayu 02 Pendant Light by Coco Flip Dimensions: D 60 x W 60 x H 34 cm Materials: White mesh fabric on transparent backing. Weight: 2 kg Standard fixtures included Pendants: 1 x 80mm...
Fabric
$14,661 / item
Quartz Pendant Light V by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz pendant light V by Aver Dimensions: D 90 x H 75 cm Materials: Natural rocks, high-quality cut crystals, jewelry chains, hand-blown glass, o...
Stone, Crystal, Other
$647 / item
14.1 Single Pendant by Bocci
Located in Geneve, CH
14.1 Single pendant by Bocci Dimensions: D 11.6 x H 300 cm Materials: brushed nickel Weight: 2 kg Adjustable lengths, Other materials and dimensions can be ordered. All our la...
Nickel
Various Sized, Diamond Ring Gradient Quartz Pendant Light by Christopher Boots
Located in Geneve, CH
Diamond Ring Gradient Quartz Pendant Light by Christopher Boots Dimensions: D 45 x H 13 cm. Materials: Clear quartz, smoky quartz. Available in clear quartz or gradient quartz. Avai...
Quartz
Intima Vertical Polished Bronze Chandelier by Palena Furniture
Located in Geneve, CH
Intima Vertical Polished Bronze Chandelier by Palena Furniture Dimensions: W 76.2 x D 86.36 x H 152.4 cm Materials: Polished Bronze, Murano White Globes Available in custom dimensio...
Bronze, Other
$1,423 / item
Slim Gold Plated Pendant by MUG
Located in Geneve, CH
Slim Gold Plated Pendant by MUG Dimensions: Ø 30 x H 298 9 cm (customizable height) Materials: Brass, Black Nickel, LEDs Finishes: - Aluminium - Bronze All our lamps can be wired a...
Aluminum, Bronze, Gold, Brass
$15,532 / item
Apparition Single Pendant by Katrien Van Der Schueren
Located in Geneve, CH
Apparition Single Pendant by Katrien Van Der Schueren Dimensions: D 91 x W 101 x H 40 cm. Materials: Plaster And Fiberglass, Sandblasted Hand-Blown Glass Bulb Satin Brass Hardware, S...
Brass, Other
A Post-Modern Space-Age GLASS TABLE LAMP by CENEDESE, MURANO, Italy 1960
By Cenedese
Located in PARIS, FR
A simple, sensual and imposing table lamp, Space-Age, Post-Modernist, Shabby-Chic, massive base in white granite Murano glass, white cylindrical lampshade, Cenedese signature acid-et...
Bronze
$5,400 / item
Swarovski Crystal Chandelier by Fendi Casa
By Fendi Casa
Located in Wichita, KS
One of the most Iconic pieces from Fendi Casa - “Crystal light” chandelier. These Swarovski Chandeliers are made by the famous design house Fendi for Fendi Casa. The chandelier is...
Crystal, Stainless Steel
Mantis 13 Sculptural Coffee Glass and Polished Bronze Pendant by Isabel Moncada
Located in Geneve, CH
Mantis 13 Sculptural Coffee Glass and Polished Bronze Pendant by Isabel Moncada Dimensions: Ø 280 x H 145 cm. Materials: Cast bronze, blown glass and turned brass. Weight: 17 kg. Ju...
Brass, Bronze
Unique Phenomenal Branch-Like Sculptural Brass Chandelier by Morghen Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Dafne pendant light sculpted large by Morghen Studio Materials: Grinded brass, LED Light, silicone Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 400 cm Made to orde...
Brass
Pendant Chandelier, Hand-Linked Chainmail Droplet 60cm, Steel with Brass Finish
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Single Pendant Chainmail Droplet Sculptural Chandelier is a beautiful hand made light piece. A chainmail web in a brass finish hugs the lamp’s canopy; as the knit becomes tighter, th...
Steel
Chandelier, Sculptural Geometric Form, Post-Modern Design, Panorammma, Mexico
By Panorammma
Located in Ciudad de México, CDMX
Hertzian Light reconfigures discarded borosilicate laboratory glass into a suspended architecture of illumination. Once instruments of measurement and control, flasks, condensers, an...
Metal
Timberline Elk & Whitetail Deer Antler Chandelier by The Peak Antler
Located in Geneve, CH
Timberline Elk & Whitetail Deer Antler Chandelier by The Peak Antler Dimensions: W 20.32 x D 152.40 x H 91.44 cm Materials: naturally shed antlers Based in, produced and shipped fro...
Antler
$4,836 / item
Conca Pendant Lamp by Studio Orth
Located in Geneve, CH
Conca Pendant Lamp by Studio Orth Dimensions: W 150 x D 12 x H 119 cm, H: Custom made. Materials: Polished Cast Brass. Finishes: Polished Cast Brass Weight: 3 kg. Also available in...
Metal
1980s Triangular Pendant Lamp by Mario Botta in Black Metal
By Mario Botta
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Suspension pendant lamp designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta (b. 1943) for Artemide, Italy, in the 1980s. The design reflects Botta’s architectural language through the use of str...
Metal
Achille Castiglioni Teli Kd51/R light Flos - Italy 1970s
Located in London, GB
Light is tempered and diffused by these rare pendants, an elegant contrast of primary modernist shapes and textured fabric. Achille Castiglioni (1918-2002) and his brother Pier Giaco...
Steel
$31,065 / item
Apparition Double Pendant by Katrien Van Der Schueren
Located in Geneve, CH
Apparition Double Pendant by Katrien Van Der Schueren Dimensions: D 81 x W 101 x H 40 cm. Materials: Plaster And Fiberglass, Sandblasted Hand-Blown Glass Bulb Satin Brass Hardware, S...
Other, Brass
$531Sale Price|20% Off
1980's Memphis Design Style Pendant Lamp
Located in Oud-Turnhout, VAN
Vintage Memphis style pendant lamp, made in Italy 1980's. Black metal with perspex ring and white opaline glass on this modern design hanging pendant lamp. Halogen lamp...
Metal
Multicolered glass & chromed metal 90s Melissa chandelier by Cordero Artemide
Located in Varese, Lombardia
Sculptural chandelier in chrome plated metal and colored shaped glass, designed by Toni Cordero in the late 1990s and produced by Artemide. The curved spiral structure is made of chr...
Metal, Chrome
$3,836 / item
HU01M Pendant Lamp L by Taiwan Lantern
Located in Geneve, CH
HU01M Pendant Lamp L by Taiwan Lantern Dimensions: D 57 x W 57 x H 50 cm. Material: Walnut & bamboo frame, Hand-colored fabrics, Metal pipes, Leath...
Metal
1960s Pop Art Oversized Light Bulb Pendant Light
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Cathedral City, CA
1960s Pop Art Oversized Light Bulb Pendant Light Unique pendant lamp in the form of an oversized light bulb made of blown glass and metal cap with a red en...
Metal
Contemporary Sculptural Eze Black Bronze Suspension Light by Michel Amar
Located in Geneve, CH
Eze Black Suspension Light by Michel Amar Dimensions: Ø 80 x H 23. Materials: Black bronze. The length of the rod is customizable. Also available in whit...
Bronze
Postmodern Memphis Style Rhombus Glass Lamp Chandelier, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Cool 27.5" wide melted glass lamp from the late 1980s Italy Postmodern Memphis style ceiling light featuring an opal or satinized glass rhombus with orange melted glass tips. It's...
Steel
$740Sale Price|10% Off
Italian hand-blown light bulb-shaped ceiling lamp by Due P, Italie 1980
Located in La xara, VC
A lamp with a unique original design from the late 1980s, designed in the shape of a light bulb. The hand-polished glass has a soft satin finish that delicately diffuses the light, c...
Murano Glass
1980's Tubular Glass Pendant Lamp from Church in Rotterdam
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Found in a church in Rotterdam. Originally made in 1980, these giant glass tube pendants are over 6 feet tall and can hang 30+ feet from the ceiling. One of the 4 has a crack on one ...
Metal
Italian Antique Amber Crystal Chandelier 28 Inch Diameter Vintage Elegance
Located in Brescia, IT
This piece perfectly embodies the spirit of 1980s Italian design. The amber-colored crystal paired with gold-plated metal make it an iconic piece of the period. Its size is perfect f...
Crystal, Metal, Brass
Gino Vistosi for Vistosi Chandelier in Chrome and Murano Glass
By Gino Vistosi, Vistosi
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Gino Vistosi for Vistosi, chandelier, chrome, murano glass, Italy, 1970s. Wonderfull chandelier designed by Gino Vistosi and manufactured by the family company Vistosi, which has a long history of manufacturing murano glass items. This flamboyant pendant features 32 large glass disks...
Chrome
$7,778 / item
Fleur Artu' Large Pendant Lamp by MM Lampadari
Located in Geneve, CH
Fleur Artu' Large Pendant Lamp by MM Lampadari Dimensions: Ø 85 x H 24 cm. Materials: Metal and alabaster. Different finishes are available. All our lamps can be wired according to ...
Alabaster, Metal
$7,295 / item
Ava 150 Pendant Lamp by Le Deun Luminaires
Located in Geneve, CH
Ava 150 Pendant Lamp by Le Deun Luminaires Dimensions: D 150 x H 50-200 cm. Materials: Epoxy painted steel. They are a French company established in 1997, specializing in designing...
Steel
Light Object 015 Horizontal Pendant in Brass by Naama Hofman
By Naama Hofman
Located in Geneve, CH
Light Object 015 Horizontal Pendant in Brass by Naama Hofman. Dimensions: W 125 x D 4 x H 80 cm (height to order). Materials: Brass, Acrylic tube. Light: flexible LED strip light, 20...
Brass
$1,682 / item
Alba Top Pendant XL by Contain
Located in Geneve, CH
Alba top pendant XL by Contain Dimensions: D 22 x H 100 cm (custom length) Materials: Brass, 3D printed PLA structure and optical lens. Also available...
Brass, Other
"Ritmica" Sculptural Pendant Lamp, designed and assembled in Italy by Dario Nasuti
Located in Parma, IT
The Concept: The Dance of Light "Ritmica" is a visual tribute to the grace and dynamism of rhythmic gymnasts. Designer Dario Nasuti sought to capture the essence of performance leot...
Metal
$4,895 / item
Cutting Edge Pendant Lamp by Square in Circle
Located in Geneve, CH
Cutting Edge Pendant Lamp by Square in Circle Dimensions: H 135 x W 16 x D 177 cm Materials: Brushed brass finish, alabaster marble, opaque glass globe. A statement pendant light...
Marble, Brass