Multidisciplinary artist, sculptor and designer Ennio Chiggio was not only known for his Space Age lamps and voluptuous, modular Environ sofas, but he was also renowned as a technological innovator, electronic music producer and researcher, who explored the relationship between mathematics and art.
Born in 1938 in Naples, Chiggio studied technology and art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. While still in school, in 1957, Chiggio began painting kinetic art using tempera on cardboard and ink on paper. By 1960, he had joined the artists’ collective Gruppo N, founded by Alberto Biasi, Edoardo Landi, Manfredo Massironi and Toni Costa.
With Gruppo N, Chiggio participated in several exhibitions such as “Programmed Art,” presented by Italian intellectual Umberto Eco, which showed in Milan, Venice and Rome in 1962 and in London and New York in 1964. By the following year, Chiggio’s interests had turned to sound and music production, and he founded the Group of Experimental Phonology NPS (New Proposals Sound) with pianist and composer Teresa Rampazzi.
From 1964 to ’77, Chiggio operated a design studio that focused on furniture and lighting as well as glass and electromechanical objects. His most well-known lighting includes the Ciot floor lamp for Italian manufacturer Lumenform, sculptural table lamps and wall sconces for Emmezeta.
After closing his design studio in 1978, Chiggio dedicated his time to teaching, serving as a professor of design and industrial aesthetics at his alma mater. In 1996, he opened the Embtool multimedia research laboratory in Padua, where he made short films about art and architecture and conducted computational music research, exploring the relationship between mathematical models and artistic expression.
Throughout the 2000s until his death in 2020, Chiggio participated in several exhibitions at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, the MACBA Museo de Arte Contemporáneo in Buenos Aires and Museum Ritter in Waldenbuch, Germany. Public collections throughout Italy and Germany also feature his works.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of innovative Ennio Chiggio furniture.
Afra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana Sofa for Cassina, Italy, 1970s
By Cassina, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in London, GB
Winner of the Compasso d’Oro award in 1970, the Soriana led Italian power couple Afra and Tobia Scarpa to instant success. An original concept, metal belts front and back give struct...
Metal
Roberto Matta 'Malitte' modular sofa set for Simon Ultramobile - Italy, 1965
By Gavina, Sebastian Matta
Located in London, GB
The witty and elegant Malitte is a sculptural assemblage of organic forms. When deconstructed, the interlocking elements form multi-use seating – lounge chairs, a chaise longue and a...
Mohair
Pair of Afra and Tobia Scarpa Soriana Two-Seater Sofas for Cassina, Italy 1970s
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Cassina
Located in London, GB
Winner of the Compasso d’Oro award in 1970, the Soriana led Italian power couple Afra and Tobia Scarpa to instant success. An original concept, metal belts front and back give struct...
Metal
Kazuhide Takahama two-seater 'Marcel' sofa for Gavina, Italy, 1965
By Kazuhide Takahama, Gavina
Located in London, GB
Japanese designer Kazuhide Takahama (1930–2010) started working in Kazuo Fuioka’s studio soon after completing his architecture studies in Tokyo. In 1957 he oversaw the design of Jap...
Cowhide
Team Form AG Trio sofa for COR - Germany, 1973
By COR
Located in London, GB
Dubbed ‘the great freedom’ by manufacturer COR, Team Form AG’s response to the stiff seating options of the era is embodied in a low, louche profile and endless configuration. The bl...
Mohair
Jorge Zalzupin Cubo Armchair for L’Atelier Brazil - Brazil, 1970.
By Jorge Zalszupin
Located in London, GB
These 1970s Cubo chairs take cuboid forms and scoop out their core. They were designed by Jorge Zalszupin, a Polish architect who moved to Brazil, having been inspired by the works o...
Fabric, Wood
Environ Zero sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, Italy, 1970's
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Melbourne, VIC
Environ Zero sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, Italy, 1970's. Newly Restored and upholstered in Italy.
Fabric
Ennio Chiggio 'Environ One' Sofa for Nikol International, Italy, 1970s
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Melbourne, VIC
The Environ One Sofa by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, 1970, is a rare vintage piece of furniture that exemplifies the best of Mid-Century Modern desi...
Wool
Environ 1 modular sofa designed by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol Internation 1970
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Arezzo, Italy
Environ 1 modular sofa designed by Ennio Chiggio for Nikol International, 1970. Polyurethane foam frame, cotton fabric, faux leather backing, metal inserts, composed of 4 joined elem...
Cotton
Rare Environ Tre Sculptural Sofa by Edoardo Landi, Gruppo N, Nikol, Italy 1971
By Ennio Chiggio, Edoardo Landi
Located in Den Haag, NL
Rare Sculptural sofa by Edoardo Landi for Nikol Internazionale, Italy 1971 With this sofa you not only get comfort in your home, but also a great work of Art. The sofa creates a shell-like environment that cocoons the sitter. With your own imagination, the sofa can be set up in different ways. This sofa would look beautiful in a Mohair or bouclé Fabric Each sofa is 230 cm in length, 100cm width, the hight is 60cm, seat height 35cm. When setup like a corner 230cmx330cm Born in Modena in 1937, Italy, Landi studied architecture in Venice and attends the School of Industrial Design in Venice between 1962 and 1964. In 1959, he founds Group N with Alberto Biasi, Manfredo Massironi, Toni Costa and Ennio Chiggio. Landi’s work is based on the use of geometric shapes with programmed inclinations or separations, through which he manages changes in the viewer's perception. The artist develops retinal fatigue and optical illusions in some of his works, causing a closer relationship between the viewer and the work. In 1963, he participates with Grupo N at the IV Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di San Marino, where they receive their first prize. Since 1968, his works have been present in international exhibitions in Rome, Oslo, Tokyo, Budapest, Bologna, Paris, Milan and other cities. Since 1971 he has been interested in graphic design and the use of Industrial objects in interior design. Often this sofa is sold as an Ennio Chiggio sofa but is not from his hand, however the sofa was produced by Nikol wich Chiggio also designed for. They were also both a member of the art movement Gruppo N...
Fabric, Foam
Ennio Chiggio “Environ” Modular Sofa for Nikol International, 1969
By Ennio Chiggio
Located in Lonigo, Veneto
Ennio Chiggio “Environ” modular sofa for Nikol International, 1969 The Ennio Chiggio "Environ" sofa for Nikol International, designed in the 1960s, is a ...
Fabric, Foam, Chenille
1970s Modular Lounge Sofa by Giuseppe Munari for Poltronova
Located in Collonge-Bellerive, GE
Giuseppe Munari for Poltronona – Modular Lounge Sofa, Italy, 1970s Velvet, leather, fabric, chrome-plated steel – The refined modular icon Step into the quietly confident world of 1...
Steel, Chrome
