description

Gio Ponti (Milan 18-11-1891 - Milan 16-09-1979)

Provenance

Italian Collection - Original Label

Detail Description

Italy, 1957. Gio Ponti “Model 811” lounge chairs in stained walnut and upholstered in orange/red Kvadrat fabric. 



The legendary Gio Ponti. This fundamentally innovative architect has a long list of trades to his name; industrial designer, artist, teacher, writer, publisher and of course furniture designer. As a native son of Milan, he was responsible for designing the Pirelli Tower there. An iconic masterpiece and this is his most well-known work as an architect, but his career spans a period of sixty years during which he completed numerous other remarkable and groundbreaking projects. 



The same is true of the illustrious magazine Domus which he founded in 1928 and paralleled all his endeavours. Ponti has designed a considerable amount of furniture, almost all of which belong in an aesthetically superior category and in an incredibly consistent way. He definitely laid the foundation for what later became known as Italian design. Mass-produced furniture with a reliance on top-notch craftmanship. This set of lounge chairs “Model 811” for Figli di Amadeo Cassina can rightly be called a masterpiece and at the same time represents the transition from traditional furniture making to mass production. 

These chairs, as it were, defy all conventions of a classic lounge chair through Ponti's modern approach to this futuristic design. Clean lines and sublime proportions alternate and above all reinforce the dynamic character that characterizes this chair. The frame is made of a dark-coloured walnut with a screw in two places, namely the upper part of the armrest, that connects the backrest to the frame. The front and back legs, armrests, and bottom rail that reinforce the legs result in a geometric trapezoidal shape. Except for the sleepers, nothing is really straight and the widely spaced legs that make contact with the floor abruptly and determinedly provide a sense of movement, velocity even. 



The seat bends past the centre of the frame and bends up again at the connection to the back legs. A pair of strong and especially graceful wooden wings protrude prominently above the rest. The seating comfort is achieved by a suspension system consisting of elastic rubber Pirelli strips that are placed crosswise. Decidedly progressive at the time. On the edge of the frame, a steel rod has been fitted to the milled piece that tapers at the ends and the rubber strips are pressed against the frame with this. We have entirely reupholstered the cushions in a red Kvadrat fabric and attached them to the frame with black leather straps. The original logo of Figli di Amadeo Cassina still adorns the rear connecting line of both copies. 



The condition of this set of Model 811 lounge chairs is very good with minor discolorations and scratches on the frame.