Date: 1973
Artist: Gianni Ruffi
Brand: Gufram
Colors: multi-colored
Material: fabric
Dimensions: 200x200x75 cm
Availability: 3 weeks
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LIMITED EDITION
In the collective imagination, what could be more Pop and surreal than a human-sized nest where you can take refuge and find some rest? This masterpiece by Gianni Ruffi from 1972, produced by Gufram in limited edition, is not a simple decorative product, but it is even much more than a work of art: the Cova is a place, a space protected.
La Cova is a timeless alcove.
Cova is the timeless alcove that proves that there are no barriers that prevent dreams, a daily poem to live. The two meters in diameter are just a number because, once inside, the space becomes equal to infinity. The Cova is the legacy of the universal thought of a single man like Gianni Ruffi which finds its appropriate place in the spiritual Gufram collection, a galaxy in poetry.
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Gianni Ruffi is an Italian post-war and contemporary painter and designer born in 1938. His work has been featured in exhibitions at the DESTE Foundation, the Center for Contemporary Art, and the R & Company NY (Franklin St.). Gianni Ruffi's work has been offered at auction several times, with realized prices ranging from $191 to $27,618, depending on the size and medium of the work. Since 2010, this artist's record price at auction is USD 27,618 for La Cova, sold at the Dorotheum, Vienna in 2018.
Learn more about the brand
Gufram is an Italian furniture manufacturer based in Barolo (Piedmont region). Founded in 1966 by the Gugliermetto brothers, Gufram, acronym for "Gugliermetto Fratelli Arredamenti Moderni", takes the form of a creative laboratory: they combine their knowledge of local craftsmanship with emerging architects and artists of the time. Their sculptured art objects revolutionized the aesthetics of 1960s furniture. From 1965, Gufram followed the artistic direction of designer Giuseppe Raimondi, who associated the company with emerging artists and architects of the time.
They study new choices of materials and mainly choose polyurethane foam to pad and structure their sculptural creations. Polyurethane will become their trademark. In addition to mastering the processing of flexible polyurethane, Gufram has developed and patented a special finish: Guflac®, the true essence of the company's artisanal spirit: this special and unique paint job makes surfaces more uniform, consistent and elastic . Soft, elegant shapes are thus created, innovative shapes that would otherwise be impossible to cover.
Gufram icons, regardless of the collection they are part of, are made by sculpting flexible polyurethane foam which is then finished or decorated by hand with the Guflac® backing.
Their creations, in the wake of pop art, are anchored in the avant-garde movement of the 1960s.
In 1968, Gufram presented its products under the name Multipli: industrially reproduced art objects in limited edition. Gufram then enjoyed considerable success with the public and the international press. Among their most remarkable creations: the Bocca sofa, originally designed by Salvador Dali, the Cactus coat rack, the majestic Pratone seat or even more recently the grotesque stools in the shape of a tombstone The End from the Toiletpaper collection, or the Broken Mirror imagined by Snarkitecture.
These “domestic sculptures” now appear in the most beautiful homes and the most renowned museums in the world.
The Gufram company was bought in 2012 by entrepreneur Sandra Vezza and her son Charley as artistic director. They were able to breathe new life into the company, notably on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2016 but also with new collaborations such as that with Moschino “Moschino kissed Gufram”.
