Through its next auction dedicated to Italian design on October 14th 2021, PIASA pays tribute to the designer and architect Gio Ponti by offering collectors a selection of his creations, among those of other famous Italian designers.
Founder of the magazine Domus and a key player in the Milan Triennale, this genius designer was considered one of the most emblematic figures of Italian modernity from the late 1930s onwards.
Gio Ponti's studies at the Milan Polytechnic were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Once the armistice was signed, he resumed his studies, graduating in 1921. He then met Emilio Lancia and Mino Fiocchi, with whom he formed a partnership to create an architectural firm.
Appointed artistic director of one of the most important Italian porcelain manufacturers, Gio Ponti completely renewed the iconographic repertoire by rationalising the production system of the pieces, while maintaining their high quality of execution. His first pieces were presented at the first Biennale of Decorative Arts in Monza in 1923 and then in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, where he was awarded the Grand Prize for ceramics.
Gio Ponti (1891-1979)
Donatella - Le mie donne series
Estimate: 8 000 / 12 000 €
Gio Ponti promoted Italian creation in all its forms. From being a simple participant, in 1927 he became a member of the steering committee of the Monza biennials, where he defended the rapprochement between crafts and industry.
Throughout his career, he was keen to select materials capable of diversifying the rendering of textures and colours. The Radica console that emerged from his workshop in the 1950s was published by Dassi Lissone. The sobriety of its geometric lines dialogues with the lively patterns of the olive veneer. This mixture of wood and brass is also found in this wall-mounted dressing table from 1957, which shows the sobriety of its author's aesthetic.
Gio Ponti (1891-1979)
Radica - Console
Estimate: 15 000 / 20 000 €
Gio Ponti (1891-1979)
Wall-mounted dressing table
Estimate: 10 000 / 15 000 €
An ardent defender of a revival of Italian design in the post-war context, he was the author of a work presented in 1950 as part of the "Italy at Work" exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. It was celebrated in 2018 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
"Love architecture, modern or antique," said Ponti. "Love it for its fantastic, adventurous and solemn creations; for its inventions; for the abstract, evocative and figurative forms that enchant the spirit and delight the mind. Love architecture, which is the setting and support of our lives."
Gio Ponti (1891-1979)
Pair of armchairs
Estimate: 25 000 / 35 000 €
