A dialogue at the pinnacle of the arts, offering a complete immersion in fifty years of artistic collaboration between the Italian maestro and the greatest post-war architects, visual artists and designers
Andy Warhol’s historic tribute to Carlo Scarpa through a unique 1980 pop art masterpiece—a silkscreen print and collage on Rhodoid—commissioned by Munari to immortalise the friendship that sealed his destiny
Museum-quality creations and prototypes, including the legendary hand-painted Proust armchair and Alessandro Mendini’s monumental Cavaliere di Dürer, Ettore Sottsass’s totemic Cubica console table and Gaetano Pesce’s Gioia resin relief panel
Total art brought to life with an exclusive set of architectural interior doors, custom-painted for Munari’s home by Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini and Milton Glaser, accompanied by a selection of Murano glassware
“Cleto Munari’s career took a decisive turn in 1973 when he met the architect Carlo Scarpa. From their friendship and intellectual rapport emerged Munari’s calling, leading him to found Cleto Munari Design Associati shortly afterwards... Drawn from the very heart of his creative world, this collection captures the integrity of a career driven by a passion for design and one that never ceased to reinvent itself.”
Jessica Franceschi, Head of the Onlive Department
Paris, 2 November 2026 - PIASA is privileged to announce the sale of the personal collection of Cleto Munari (1930–2026). A leading figure, an enlightened entrepreneur and an uncompromising aesthete, Cleto Munari embodied, for over half a century, the living link between the most virtuosic Italian artistic craftsmanship and the international architectural avant-garde.
Based at his home in Brendola, in the province of Vicenza in the Veneto region, Munari transformed his living environment into a permanent design laboratory. From 1973 onwards, encouraged by Carlo Scarpa, he urged masters of architecture and the visual arts to engage with the scale of objects, furniture, goldsmithing and jewellery. His first collection of table silverware, launched in 1982, caused a sensation and propelled his works into the world’s leading cultural institutions, notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
Comprising prototypes, one-off pieces, paintings and bespoke commissions created specifically for his own home, this exceptional collection captures with rare intensity the free spirit of a man who regarded design as a way of life and an act of friendship.
Highlights
Andy Warhol (1928–1987)
Portrait of Carlo Scarpa, 1980
Colour silkscreen collage on Rhodoid sheets
Unique piece
Signed lower right | Unframed: 121 × 90 cm — Framed: 129.5 × 99.3 × 6.4 cm
Provenance: Commissioned directly by Cleto Munari from Andy Warhol in memory of his friend Carlo Scarpa.
Estimation : 70 000 / 90 000 €
An exceptional historical testament to the relationship between Cleto Munari and the Factory in New York, this monumental portrait of Carlo Scarpa goes beyond a mere exercise in Pop Art style. Created in the wake of Scarpa’s tragic death in 1978, the work superimposes coloured geometric blocks onto a screen-printed border featuring the silhouettes of the silver cutlery designed by the Venetian master for Munari. A masterful synthesis of personal tribute, design history and Pop Art iconography.
Gaetano Pesce (1939-2024)
Gioia, 1986
Resin on painted wood
Signed, titled and dated in the material on the right
Dimensions: 250 × 119.5 cm
Estimation : 60 000 / 90 000 €
A museum-quality piece due to its scale and dramatic intensity, this sculptural panel illustrates Gaetano Pesce’s pioneering exploration of the expressiveness of synthetic materials. Against a vibrant, glowing red background, a black anthropomorphic silhouette appears to emerge in relief from the cast resin. Combining vital energy, raw sensuality and a critique of industrial uniformity, this major work encapsulates the Italian designer’s radical and uncompromising artistic language.
Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019)
‘Proust’ armchair, 2000
Wood, fabric and acrylic paint
One-off piece
Signed A. Mendini and dated beneath the seat | Atelier Mendini edition | H 110 × W 95 × D 90 cm
Estimation : 25 000 / 35 000 €
A true universal icon of the post-modern movement and a manifesto of re-design, the Proust armchair reinterprets the bourgeois silhouette of a baroque bergère, covering it with a pointillist pattern inspired by Paul Signac. This personal piece belonging to Cleto Munari, hand-painted and kept at the heart of his living room, embodies the close bond that united the publisher with the founder of Atelier Mendini.
Avant-garde silverware & jewellery by architects: Carlo Scarpa’s seminal solid silver tableware set (1977), as well as a rare collection of wearable sculptures in 18-carat gold by Frank Gehry, Alex Katz, Ettore Sottsass, Arata Isozaki and Michele De Lucchi.
Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978)
Cutlery set for 12 people, 1977
925/1000 sterling silver | 86 pieces
Cleto Munari edition
Each piece engraved with the signature ‘C. Scarpa’
Estimation : 16 000 / 20 000 €
The legendary first commission placed by Cleto Munari with Carlo Scarpa, this complete cutlery set is a major milestone in modern silversmithing. With its geometric purity, the precision of its fluted handles and its functional modernity, this set inaugurated the prestigious 1982 Silver collection and paved the way for all subsequent collaborations by the Munari house.
A comprehensive collection: From architect-designed doors to portable sculptures
The dispersal of this private collection reveals whole facets of the art of living envisaged by Cleto Munari in his home in Vicenza:
Bespoke painted interior doors (circa 1990): A collection, unique in the world, of architectural door panels in wood, resin, Lucite and chrome-plated metal, designed and hand-painted by Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, Milton Glaser, Uwe Loesch and Dan Reisinger (estimated at €5,000 to €7,000 each).
Architects’ jewellery: Rare and precious pieces in 18-carat gold, solid silver, coral, onyx and diamonds, created by Frank Gehry (the spectacular articulated ‘Fish Armatura’ ring), Alex Katz (the ‘Yorkshire’ brooch and ring), Ettore Sottsass (the ‘Roue’ ring and the ‘Open Book’ ring from the ‘La Seduzione’ series), Michele De Lucchi, Arata Isozaki and Cleto Munari himself.
Sculptural furniture and the art of fire: Furniture collections created with Mimmo Paladino (the ‘Bataille de San Romano’ sideboard, the ‘Buongiorno 2’ sideboard), Cleto Munari’s ‘Omaggio a Peter Halley’ chest of drawers, Carlo Scarpa’s ‘Doge’ table, as well as a rich collection of Murano glassware blown by the greatest masters (Mario Botta, Hans Hollein, Steven Holl, Bořek Šípek, David Palterer and Marco Zanini for Memphis).
Mais aussi :
Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007)
‘Cubica’ side table, 2002
Lacquered wood, marble and brass
Prototype from a limited edition of 9 pieces
Cleto Munari edition | H 117 × W 130 × D 42 cm
Bibliography: D. Antoine, ‘Yves Gastou, Antiquaire du futur’, Éditions Norma, Paris, 2011, reproduced on p. 99.
Estimation : 20 000 / 30 000 €
The result of over twenty years of close collaboration between Ettore Sottsass and Cleto Munari, the Cubica console table combines the geometric boldness of the Memphis style with the austere elegance of marble and fine cabinetmaking. Presented here as a workshop prototype, this sculptural piece stands as one of the Milanese maestro’s final major formal statements for his friend.
Alessandro Mendini (1931-2019)
‘Cavaliere di Dürer’ 2008
Marble and lacquered iron
Prototype from a limited edition of 9 pieces
Cleto Munari Edition | H 270 × W 110 × D 75 cm
Estimation : 18 000 / 25 000 €
This monumental sculpture in marble and lacquered iron draws inspiration from Albrecht Dürer’s equestrian drawing, transfigured through Alessandro Mendini’s colourful and ironic lens. A true guardian of the collection in Brendola, this grandiose prototype illustrates Munari’s ambition: to create a dialogue between Renaissance masterpieces and the chromatic and structural freedom of the 21st century.
