An architect, furniture and industrial designer and editor, Gio Ponti was arguably the most influential figure in 20th-century Italian modernism.
Ponti designed thousands of furnishings and products — from cabinets, mirrors and chairs to ceramics and coffeemakers — and his buildings, including the brawny Pirelli Tower (1956) in his native Milan, and the castle-like Denver Art Museum (1971), were erected in 14 countries. Through Domus, the magazine he founded in 1928, Ponti brought attention to virtually every significant movement and creator in the spheres of modern art and design.
The questing intelligence Ponti brought to Domus is reflected in his work: as protean as he was prolific, Ponti’s style can’t be pegged to a specific genre.
In the 1920s, as artistic director for the Tuscan porcelain maker Richard Ginori, he fused old and new; his ceramic forms were modern, but decorated with motifs from Roman antiquity. In pre-war Italy, modernist design was encouraged, and after the conflict, Ponti — along with designers such as Carlo Mollino, Franco Albini, Marco Zanuso — found a receptive audience for their novel, idiosyncratic work. Ponti’s typical furniture forms from the period, such as the wedge-shaped Distex chair, are simple, gently angular, and colorful; equally elegant and functional. In the 1960s and ’70s, Ponti’s style evolved again as he explored biomorphic shapes, and embraced the expressive, experimental designs of Ettore Sottsass Jr., Joe Colombo and others.
Ponti's signature furniture piece — the one by which he is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Germany’s Vitra Design Museum and elsewhere — is the sleek Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina starting in 1957. (The name translates as “superlightweight” — advertisements featured a model lifting it with one finger.)
Ponti had a playful side, best shown in a collaboration he began in the late 1940s with the graphic artist Piero Fornasetti. Ponti furnishings were decorated with bright finishes and Fornasetti's whimsical lithographic transfer prints of things such as butterflies, birds or flowers; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts possesses a 1950 secretary from their Architetturra series, which feature case pieces covered in images of building interiors and facades. The grandest project Ponti and Fornasetti undertook, however, lies on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean: the interiors of the luxury liner Andrea Doria, which sank in 1956.
Widely praised retrospectives at the Queens Museum of Art in 2001 and at the Design Museum London in 2002 sparked a renewed interest in Ponti among modern design aficionados. (Marco Romanelli’s monograph, which was written for the London show, offers a fine overview of Ponti’s work.) Today, a wide array of Ponti’s designs are snapped up by savvy collectors who want to give their homes a touch of Italian panache and effortless chic.
Find a range of vintage Gio Ponti desks, dining chairs, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
pair of Franco Campo & Carlo Graffi armchairs, ash and bouclè fabric, Turin 1950
Located in Rome, IT
a pair of att.Franco Campo & Carlo Graffi armchairs, 1950 produced by Apelli & Varedo in 1950, Turin -Italy iconic model with an amorphic wood structure ash and re-upholste...
Fabric, Ash
pair of fine Maurizio Tempestini forest green velvet armchairs, Florence, 1938
By Maurizio Tempestini
Located in Rome, IT
fine and elegant pair of armchairs, design by Maurizio Tempestini in 1938 designed and produced for a private residence, Villa B, in Florence within another pair ( in antique pink v...
Velvet, Wood
pair of GIO PONTI armchairs white velvet brass feet for private residence 1955
By Gio Ponti
Located in Rome, IT
elegant pair of Gio Ponti armchairs probably a unique pieces from a private residence in Arenzano, Genova, Italy 1955 from the same residence other important items designed by Gio...
Brass
pair of fine Maurizio Tempestini old rose velvet armchairs, Florence, 1938
By Maurizio Tempestini
Located in Rome, IT
fine and elegant pair of armchairs, design by Maurizio Tempestini in 1938 designed and produced for a private residence, Villa B, in Florence within another pair ( in green forest ...
Velvet, Wood
Carlo de Carli Bicolored Armchair Model N. 802 by Cassina, 1954
By Carlo di Carli, Figli di Amadeo Cassina
Located in Rome, IT
Carlo de Carli armchair, model n. 802 manufactured by Cassina, Italy, 1954. The wooden frame with foam upholstery rests on elastic ribbons. The armchair was reupholstered and cov...
Silk, Velvet, Fruitwood
Gio Ponti ivory wingback armchair, model n. 512 by Cassina, 1950
By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Gio Ponti
Located in Rome, IT
Important armchair designed by Gio Ponti 1950 model n.512 produced by F.lli Cassina recently reupholstery in white ivory velvet, walnut feet conic walnut feet and ivory velvet very ...
Velvet, Walnut
Mid-Century Modern Pair of Italian Armchairs, Blue Velvet, 1950s
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern pair of Italian armchairs, Blue Velvet, 1950s.
Velvet
Pair of Paolo Buffa Blue Velvet Armchairs
By Paolo Buffa
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of Paolo Buffa armchairs, circa 1950, upholstered in a cobalt-blue velvet. The chairs feature Buffa’s signature balance of refined Italian craftsmanship and sculptural modernism...
Velvet, Wood
Pair of Giovanni Michelucci Armchairs in Blue Velvet, Italy, 1940s
By Giovanni Michelucci
Located in Almelo, NL
Pair of Giovanni Michelucci Armchairs in Blue Velvet, Italy, 1940s A striking pair of architectural armchairs designed by Italian architect Giovanni Michelucci in the 1940s. These r...
Upholstery, Velvet, Walnut
Pair of Italian Mid-Century Navy Gio Ponti Style Chairs
Located in Dallas, TX
Fine pair of Italian Mid-Century Navy Gio Ponti style chairs upholstered in a plush velvet. A favorite of the designers. Very nice!!
Metal
Pair of Mid Century 366 Armchairs in Blue Velvet, Jozef Chierowski, Europe 1960
By Jozef Chierowski
Located in 05-080 Hornowek, PL
The 366 armchair is an icon of the polish design of the PRL period. The famous armchair was designed in 1962 by the Polish interior designer and furniture designer Jozef Marian Chierowski. Produced in the Lower Silesian Furniture Factory in Swiebodzice. The chair has a simple, modernist form. It consists of an upholstered seat combined with a wooden backrest. The organic shape is typical of the 1960s style. The chair is very ergonomic and comfortable, as the furniture designs of that time were largely focused on the user. Due to its small size, the furniture fits perfectly into the interiors of contemporary apartments, perfectly meeting the needs of customers. The chair is in perfect condition after a professional renovation. We can prepare this set also in another wood and fabric color. About the fabric: This is special collection of velvet in a stunning color range of more than 100 different shades of both pure classic and non-obvious pastel broken colors. The colour palette has been created with extreme attention following the most recent trends. The unique feature of this fabric is its producing in nanotechnologies, so called WATER CLEAN, which gives it a high resistance to stains and facilitates the removal of stains from coffee, chocolate and even ink. This fabric is a perfect imitation of cotton velvet, gives the effect of softness and matte surface which works very well in heavy curtains...
Textile, Beech
Pair of Armchairs in the Style of Gio Ponti, 1960s
By Gio Ponti
Located in Ternay, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Pair of armchairs in the style of Gio Ponti. Freshly upholstery.
Velvet
The Brooklyn-based designer is adept at styles ranging from austere to over-the-top, espousing an architectural, detail-oriented approach also evident in his line of furniture and lighting.
A blockbuster exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs shows the work of the modernist master in a brilliant new light.
