MILN.- Rooted in the collective imagination, the cones created by great masters of italian design such as Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass or Mario Bellini found a new life thanks to the reissues of their parts of little, omnipresent in the Milan Furniture Salon.
Salvatore Licitra, grandson of Gio Ponti (1891-1979), delicately slides his hand over the green leather sofa named Due Foglie (two leaves) due to its sinuous curved shape, conceived in 1957 by the famous designer and revisited by the Molteni group .
A little further away, in the same exhibition stand, he excitedly finds another of Ponti’s iconic pieces, the Continuum armchair from 1963, whose frame, molded from rattan, draws a continuous line that curves, giving it shape.
A piece of furniture that reminds him of his childhood, as it was at the entrance to his grandfather’s studio in Milan, says Licitra.
“I am happy that a heritage that was not well known because at that time there was no distribution network was rediscovered. Now, these forgotten pieces of furniture exist again, they have a name, a story,” says Licitra, 71. years
“For Ponti, the furniture had its dignity, as if it were a sculpture, it had its own life and was free, like a work of art,” says the proud grandson, who manages his illustrious grandfather’s archives with passion and meticulousness.
The works of Gio Ponti, who sought both functionality and beauty, are highly appreciated by the Japanese, who: “they still ask me where his tomb is so they can visit it,” he explains.
Memphis cult objects
In a totally different register, the Memphis Group, an ephemeral movement of radical and anti-conformist design created in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, also returns to the present.
Dissolved shortly after the departure of its founder in 1985, this group broke the bourgeois codes of the time with objects of pop aesthetics and geometric shapes that bordered on the kitsch.
“The world is experiencing gray days and wars, and people seek to calm themselves by buying products that entertain them,” explains Charley Vezza, CEO of the Italian Radical Design firm, which brings together the Memphis Milano, Gufram and Meritalia brands.
“No one has ever thrown away a piece of furniture from Memphis. It has a certain value, it is a cult object that is resold at auction,” says the 37-year-old businessman.
Ettore Sottsass’s legendary Carlton library, a surreal totem-like piece created in 1981 against all ideas of functionality, is now worth more than 15,000 euros ($16,000).
The Gufram brand has reissued a limited series of Cactus, a green and playful coat rack in the shape of this plant invented in 1972 by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello, in violet, blue and red colors.
And Meritalia, from the same group, relaunched the production of the works of the visionary designer Gaetano Pesce, who died this month at the age of 84. Among them, the playful and modular La Michetta sofa, inspired by a type of Milanese bread.
A story to tell
“Reissues provide a certain psychological comfort (to buyers) due to the link with the roots of the past, but also due to the economic value they acquire over time,” comments Maria Porro, president of the Salon del Mobile.
The walls of the Tacchini exhibition stand are decorated with photographs of design masters and their works, with small notes explaining their history.
Daughter of the founder of the family business and now its general director, Giusi Tacchini does not hide her passion for these iconic designs.
“We look for pieces from the past that have a story to tell. They are not always from famous creators, but also from unknown or little-known designers,” he explains.
“They are products that do not follow the fashions of the moment, great classics that we like now and that will still be beautiful in ten, twenty or fifty years.”
The Le Mura sofa, created in 1972 by the famous designer Mario Bellini, 89 years old, was reissued in 2022 using new materials and coverings, but respecting the original.
“The Le Mura was chosen for its clean lines and character,” explains Tacchini. “It is a perfect mix of timelessness and sensuality that, for us, represents the success of a product.”
FUENTE: AFP
