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.
Flab Clay Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs
Located in Geneve, CH
Flab Clay Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs Dimensions: D 16.5 x H 17.8 cm Materials: Stoneware clay. Available in Egg White, Blush Pink, and Charcoal Black. Please contact us...
Clay, Stoneware
Tabla table lamp by Mario Barbaglia & Marco Colombo for Italiana Luce, 1988.
By Italiana Luce, Mario Barbaglia and Marco Colombo
Located in Athens, Attiki
Tabla table lamp by Mario Barbaglia & Marco Colombo for Italiana Luce, 1988. Tabla has an extendable adjustable arm, made of lightweight polycarbonate plastic, that pivots on the pea...
Metal
$1,109 / item
Walnut Peono Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
Walnut Peono Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel Dimensions: Ø 40.6 x H 61 cm. Materials: Brass, acrylic and walnut wood. Also available in different marbl...
Brass
$5,850 / set
Pair of Murano Glass Lamps by Vetri
Pair of Murano glass lamps by Vetri. Large pair of Postmodern Murano glass pyramid or triangular shaped lamps. This unusual and rare pair of Italian lamps was manufactured by Vetri, ...
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
$210 / item
Study Table Lamp by Msds Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Study table lamp by MSDS studio. Materials: Aluminum. Dimensions: D 13.4 x W 15.9 x H 22.7 cm. MSDS STUDIO is a successful Canadian design studio that...
Aluminum
$1,494Sale Price / set|20% Off
Post-Modern style. Sculptural ceramic table lamps, Spain, 1980s
By Cerámicas BONDIA, Hispania CH
Located in SANT ADRIÀ DE BESÒS, ES
Sculptural ceramic table lamps, Spain, 1980s. Made of ceramic with an abstract shape similar to a rock, with a light gray glazed finish and hand-painted with splashes of black paint....
Ceramic, Opaline Glass, Paint
No. 11 Circle Blue Grey Contemporary Art Floor Lamp by Sander Bottinga
Located in Geneve, CH
Light object, floor lamp, circle blue grey Handmade in brass, leather, wood and hand printed and painted linen. A dimmer is inlaid with leather Dimensions: H 130 x W 27 x D 16 cm ...
Brass
$1,226 / item
Caramel Medium Sonora Linen Table Lamp by NASSI
Located in Geneve, CH
Caramel Medium Sonora Linen Table Lamp by NASSI Dimensions: W 35 x D 35 x H 58 cm. Materials: Lampshade: coated iron, warm white Cotton Lining. Base: wood-fired clay with beeswax fi...
Clay, Cotton
Lovoa Trichilioides Tree African Walnut Lumen Table Lamp by Hodan Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Lovoa Trichilioides Tree African Walnut Lumen Table Lamp by Hodan Design Dimensions: W 73 x D 20 x H 10 cm Materials: Lovoa Trichilioides Tree African Walnut. Finish color: Charred b...
Walnut
$630 / item
Babka Table Lamp by Di Fretto
Located in Geneve, CH
Babka Table Lamp by Di Fretto Dimensions: ⌀ 14 x H 53 cm (measure without lampshade) Materials: White Faience (not glazed) The Babka table lamp is a twist i...
Faience
$1,214 / item
White Alabaster Edna Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
White Alabaster Edna Table Lamp by Simone & MarcelMarcel Dimensions: D 15 x W 44 x H 46 cm. Materials: Cotton, brass and white alabaster. Also available in different marbles and cer...
Alabaster, Brass
$5,465 / item
Horizon #5 Stoneware Lamp by Elisa Uberti
Located in Geneve, CH
Horizon #5 stoneware lamp by Elisa Uberti Unique Limited series of 8 numbered copies + 1 AP Dimensions: D 40 x W 20 x H 65 cm Materials: white Stoneware This product is handmade...
Stoneware
Memphis Style Modern Bedside Lamps Table Lamp Black White Glass 1990s
Located in Vienna, AT
Memphis Style Post- Modern style bedside lamps or table lamps from black and white glass and brassed metal 1990s Italy. Fantastic bedside lamps or table lamps from black and white gl...
Glass
$1,553 / item
Green Marble Peona Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
Green Marble Peona Table Lamp by Simone & Marcel Dimensions: Ø 40 x H 61 cm. Materials: Brass, cotton and green marble. Also available in different marble, wood and alabaster option...
Marble, Brass
Small Rio Sandstone Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Rio Sandstone Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs Dimensions: D 15.2 x H 17.8 cm Materials: Sandstone. Available in Green Forest marble, Sandstone, Travertine, or White ma...
Sandstone
$956Sale Price / set|25% Off
Pair of French Postmodern Table Lamps by Robert Kostka Enameled Forest Green
Located in San Diego, CA
Fantastic rare pair of enameled forest green Memphis era postmodern table lamps, by Robert Kostka excellent condition hard to find. screw top to put shades . freshly rewired to US st...
Metal
$5,652 / item
Bud Table Lamp by Atelier Demichelis
Located in Geneve, CH
Bud table lamp by Atelier Demichelis Limited edition of 20 pieces, numbered and signed Dimensions: D 40 x H 71 cm Materials: Br...
Bronze
$1,200 / set
Pair of Post-Modern Artichoke Table Lamps 1980s
By Laurel Lamp Company, Jonathan Adler
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful and sculptural set of ceramic artichoke lamps. Although post-modern in essence, these lamps resonate with a variety of styles from modernist, coastal to organic modern. T...
Ceramic
$1,366 / item
Ne600 Mat Lamp by MLK Furniture
Located in Geneve, CH
Ne600 Mat Lamp by MLK Furniture Dimensions: D 20 x W 20 x H 63 cm. Materials: Stainless steel, acrylic. Available in mat, or mat and mirror. Also available in brass, copper, or stai...
Stainless Steel
$350 / item
Big Spotty Lamp by Siup Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Big Spotty Lamp by Siup Studio. Dimensions: ?20 x H 40 cm Materials: glass and ceramics. One of a kind. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. Please contact us. Hand made...
Ceramic, Glass
$2,475 / item
Shell Light by Touch With Eyes
Located in Geneve, CH
Shell Light by Touch With Eyes Dimensions: W 50 x D 50 x H 70 cm Materials: Metal- aluminum, mussels. Weight: 3 Kg. The light was made with shells found...
Metal
Gold in the Sun Table Lamp by Dominique Perrault & Gaëlle Lauriot-prévost
By Dominique Perrault & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost
Located in Geneve, CH
Gold in the sun table lamp by Dominique Perrault & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost Dimensions: D 13 x H 12.7 cm Materials: Steel, aluminum. All our lamps ca...
Aluminum, Steel
A Pair of POP POST-MODERN Lucite TABLE LAMPS by PIERRE GIRAUDON France 1970
Located in PARIS, FR
A spectacular and poetic pair of rectangular lucite table lamps : 2 massive inclusions of coral and golden objects topped with original lampshades, by P...
Lucite, Plexiglass
$2,616 / item
Chestnut Cicero 26 Table Lamp by Danny Kaplan Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Chestnut Cicero 26 Table Lamp by Danny Kaplan Studio Dimensions: ⌀ 41 x H 66 cm Materials: Glazed Ceramic, Unfinished Brass, Linen This item is handmade, and may exhibit variability...
Brass
Folia Sculptural Cast Bronze and Brass Table Lamp by Federico Stefanovich
Located in Geneve, CH
Folia Sculptural Cast Bronze and Brass Table Lamp by Federico Stefanovich. Dimensions: W 33 x D 33 x H 48 cm. Material: Cast Bronze, Brass. All our lamps can be wired according to e...
Brass, Bronze
$2,150 / item
Ceiba Lamp
Located in Mérida, MX
This lamp reads as a small ceramic totem that lives somewhere between the domestic object and sculpture. Its compact, archetypal conical silhouette can evoke a popular mexican tree...
Clay, Resin
Pr. Italian Post Modern Table Lamps by Pier Ramella by Arteluce for Flos 1980's
By Pier Giuseppe Ramella, Arteluce
Located in New York, NY
Incredible pair of Italian Postmodern design table laps, designed by Pier Giuseppe Ramella, made by Arteluce for Flos, circa 1980's. These chic lamps feature flying saucer like tops...
Metal
$3,853 / item
Vardo Table Lamp in Aluminum by Animate Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Vardo Table Lamp in Aluminum by Animate Objects. Dimensions: W 18 x D 18 x H 40 cm. Materials: Aluminum, Transparent Powder Coating, Beige Powder Coating. All our lamps can be wired...
Aluminum
$4,487Sale Price / set|50% Off
Pair of French Fondica Golden Bronze 90’s Table Lamps
By Fondica, Stephane Galerneau
Located in New York, NY
A sophisticated pair of golden bronze lamps with twisted coral column bodies. The sculptural French dore table lamps were designed by Stephane G...
Gold, Bronze
Memphis Style Wire Mesh Grid Lucite Table Lamps Post-Modern, Italy
Located in Vienna, AT
Pair of Wire Mesh Grid Lucite Table lamps Post-modern, Italy around 1980 sold as a pair Up for consideration is this post-modern pair of table lamps comprised of a metal grid mesh and a bent slab of translucent lucite. It casts a very subtle light. A very sculptural light in very good condition with hardly any signs of wear. Some minimal superficial scratches hardly noticeable. These lights cast an amazing light and are equipped with neon bulbs...
Metal
Mago Lamp in Aluminium and Frosted Glass by Animate Objects
Located in Geneve, CH
Mago Lamp in Aluminium and Frosted Glass by Animate Objects. Dimensions: W 18 x D 18 x H 28 cm. Materials: Aluminium, Frosted Glass. All our lamps can be wired according to each cou...
Aluminum
10x Artemide Tolomeo Tischlampe leuchte Designklassiker 19%Mwst
By Artemide, Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Wir bieten eine von insgesamt zehn Tolomeo Tischleuchten vom italienischen Premiumhersteller Artemide zum Verkauf an. Die Lampen gelten als absolute Designklassiker, wurden von Miche...
Aluminum
$7,800 / item
Explosion Proof Mining Lamp, 1970s Germany
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Your new favorite conversation starter just crawled out of a mine shaft and into the spotlight. Straight from industrial Germany in the 1970s, this explosion-proof mining lamp once l...
Metal
Pair of Italian Postmodern Foldable "Disco" Table Lamps by Mario Bertorelle
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pair of diminutive Postmodern "Disco" Table Lamps by Mario Bertorelle for JM RMD (ca. 1980s, Italy). Composed of round black plastic forms whose light functions are activated when th...
Plastic
Pair of French 1980 Dominic Chambon Shagreen Table Lamps
Located in New York, NY
Pair of beautiful hand crafted French 1980s shagreen and brass lamp bodies with walnut based table lamps by designer , Dominic Chambon. Matching oval s...
Brass
Small Rio Marble Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Rio Marble Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs Dimensions: D 15.2 x H 17.8 cm Materials: Green Forest marble. Available in Green Forest marble, Sandstone, Travertine, or W...
Marble
Set of 2 Postmodern Italian Virgo Table Lamps by Ilalia Gibertini, 1990s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Two rare table lights from the Italian manufacturer Nemo after a design by Ilaria Gibertini from the early 90s. A rarity that has not been on the market for years. The shape of the ...
Aluminum
Pair of Vetri D‘Arte Murano Glass Mushroom Table Lamps, Italy, 1970s
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Pair of beautiful Italian table lamps by Vetri d‘Arte Murano. They have a extraordinary mushroom shape. Very good vintage condition. Works with both 120/220V. Free worldwide expre...
Murano Glass
Postmodern Pair of Gold Table Lamps by Leonardo Marelli for Estiluz, 1980s
By Leonardo Marelli, Estiluz, Estiluz Lighting
Located in Badajoz, Badajoz
Beauty and cool Postmodern Pair of Gold Table Lamps by Leonardo Marelli for Estiluz. These Table Lamps were made in Barcelona (Spain) by Estiluz during 1980s. Model M-1131. “Estiluz”...
Metal
$450 / set
1980s Sand Swirl Ceramic Table Lamps
Located in Grand Rapids, MI
USA, 1980s 1980s Sand Swirl Ceramic Table Lamps. Nice texture and soft color on these. They come with new off white linen empire shades. DIMENSIONS: Ceramic body is 8.5" Diameter x 1...
Ceramic, Linen
TF200 Table Lamp In Satin Brass with Black Marble Base by Daluce
Located in Geneve, CH
TF200 Table Lamp In Satin Brass with Black Marble Base by Daluce Dimensions: Ø 14 x H 40,5 cm. Materials: Brass and marble. Available in different finish options: light satin burni...
Marble, Brass
$4,017 / set
Set of 2 Mushroom Lamps by Casa Alfarera
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Mushroom lamps by Casa Alfarera Dimensions: D25 x H45.7 cm Materials: Stoneware, brass Each piece is unique. Variations might occur from item to item. All our lamps can be ...
Brass
Set of Two Table Lamps Giocasta Notte by Andrea Anastasio for Artemide 1990s
Located in München, BY
Set of two amazing table lamps. Model 'Giocasta Notte'. Designed by Andrea Anastasio for Artemide, Italy, 1990s. Executed in metal and Murano glass, each lamp comes with 2 x E14 / E12 Edison screw fit bulb sockets. They are wired, in working condition and run both on 110 / 230 volt. Max. 40 Watt each socket. Each socket can be switched on/off separately. Delivery without bulbs. Our lights are checked, cleaned and suitable for use in the USA. For usage in US you would only have to change the plug or get a holiday converter if needed. Dimensions: Height: 18.11 in. (46 cm) Width: 7.88 in. (20 cm) Depth: 7.09 in. (18 cm) Net weight of both lamps ca. 4 KG Condition: Good original vintage condition. Wear consistent with use and age. Three of the decorative Murano rods...
Metal, Chrome
Orbis Table Lamp in Marble with Brass Lighting Fixture by Homa
Located in Geneve, CH
Orbis Table Lamp in Marble with Brass Lighting Fixture by Homa. Dimensions: W 20 x D 20 x H 40 cm. Materials: Marble, Green and Honey Onyx, Brass. All our lamps can be wired accordi...
Marble, Onyx, Brass
Mini Sky Set Sculptural Table Lamp in Glass and Stainless Steel by Dace Sūna
Located in Geneve, CH
Mini Sky Set Sculptural Table Lamp in Glass and Stainless Steel by Dace Sūna. Dimensions: D 32 x W 39 x H 38 cm. Materials: Glass, Stainless Steel, LED. All our lamps can be wired ...
Stainless Steel
Katie Table Lamp in Gypsum & Fiberglass by Brent Warr Studios
By Brent Warr
Located in Bainbridge, GA
A more petite version of the Rachel, the Katie Table Lamp exudes a versatile style that is both artisanal and playful. The light is diffused evenly across the sanded plaster, left ra...
Epoxy Resin, Fiberglass, Paint
$10,510 / item
Vesper Pendant Lamp by Morghen Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Vesper Pendant Lamp by Morghen Studio Dimensions: 190 x 80 x 80 cm Materials: Satin brass, LED light, Silicone. Standard features: Light source: COB LED - 24v DC - 12w - 2700k - dim...
Brass
Italian Modernist Table lamps in Glass and Metal by Tre Ci Luce, 1980s, Set of 2
By Tre Ci Luce Vega, Gio Ponti, Cesare Lacca
Located in Morazzone, Varese
Wonderful pair of Italian Design table lamps, manufactured in the 1980s (Space Age era) by Tre Ci Luce, design attributed to Cesare Lacca. There are original manufacturers label insi...
Metal
$1,250 / set
Vintage Boho Glazed Ceramic Lamps - A Pair
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This striking pair of table lamps beautifully captures the sophisticated energy and bold color contrasts defining Postmodern design of the 1980s. Each lamp features a graceful, overs...
Brass
$1,413 / item
Big Rio Clay Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs
Located in Geneve, CH
Big Rio Clay Table Lamp by Harshita Jhamtani Designs Dimensions: D 30.5 x H 35.6 cm Materials: Stoneware clay. Available in Egg White, Blush Pink, and Charcoal Black. Please contact...
Clay, Stoneware
LOP Big Rectangle Red by BằNG - Unboring Object
Located in Geneve, CH
LOP Big Rectangle Red by BằNG - Unboring Object Dimensions: W 24 x D 25.5 x H 60 cm. Materials: acrylic, stainless steel, matte opal glass. Light bulb included and replaceable: E14...
Stainless Steel
Pair Chrome Lucite Table Lamps 1970s Hollywood Regency Postmodern Minimalism
Located in London, GB
An impressive and elegant tall pair of octagonal steel chromium table lams with lucite details. This minimal pair of table lamps with a mirror polish surfaces is giving that wow eff...
Chrome
LOP Big Square Electric Pink by BằNG - Unboring Object
Located in Geneve, CH
LOP Big Square Electric Pink by BằNG - Unboring Object Dimensions: W 24 x D 25.5 x H 24 cm. Materials: Casted acrylic, stainless steel, matte opal glass. Light bulb included and re...
Stainless Steel
LOP Small Square Red by BằNG - Unboring Object
Located in Geneve, CH
LOP Small Square Red by BằNG - Unboring Object Dimensions: W 18 x D 19.5 x H 18 cm. Materials: Casted acrylic, stainless steel, matte opal glass. Light bulb included and replaceabl...
Stainless Steel
$915Sale Price / set|29% Off
Pair of Postmodern Italian Iridescent Murano Glass Fan Table Lamps, 1980s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Pair of fan-shaped lamps in iridescent murano glass.
Metal
Mario Botta, 'Shogun' Postmodern Table Lamps, Artemide Milano, 1980s
By Mario Botta
Located in Argelato, BO
Pair of postmodern table lamps by the famous architect Mario Botta. The adjustable lampshade in painted metal reproduces the hat of the ...
Metal
Pimlico Table Lamp in Solid Beech with Lacquer and Linen by POPUS EDITIONS
Located in Geneve, CH
Pimlico Table Lamp in Solid Beech with Lacquer and Linen by POPUS EDITIONS. Dimensions: Ø 32 x H 49 cm. Materials: Hand-turned solid beech wood finished in a premium glossy lacquer. ...
Wood, Beech, Lacquer
Folia Solid Oak and Cast Bronze Table Lamp by Federico Stefanovich
Located in Geneve, CH
Folia Solid Oak and Cast Bronze Table Lamp by Federico Stefanovich. Dimensions: W 33 x D 33 x H 48 cm. Material: Solid Oak, Cast Bronze, Brass. All our lamps can be wired according ...
Brass, Bronze
Space Age 3-Line Series Table Lamps by Frandsen - A Pair
Located in Las Vegas, NV
This is a RARE pair of Model 3000-B, 3-Line series table lamps. designed by Benny Frandsen for Frandsen Lighting, Denmark. Lamps are constructed of metal, finished in blacn with w...
Metal
$2,440 / item
Volta Lamp by Marta Bonilla
Located in Geneve, CH
Volta lamp by Marta Bonilla Dimensions: D28 x H41 cm Materials: Brass, cotton, raffia. Piece modeled by hand. Enameled in matte white, with shades. Brass pieces, cotton wiring. ...
Brass