Artist: Superstudio
Brand: Poltronova
Colors: pink, marbled black/marbled red
Material: marble, mirror, plexiglass
Dimensions: L 20 cm x D 7 cm x H 25 cm
Availability: 2 weeks
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The Vanitas small mirror/photo holder from Superstudio started with the idea of using leftover marble processing. A DIY operation, rather than creation, as the Florentine group declared at the time. The careful milling of the irregular pieces of marble makes it the valuable support for two sheets of methacrylate to be used as a photo frame. The “Ofelia, Spera and Vanitas” series, ahead of their time, represent a transformation project capable of giving a new refined aesthetic to industrial scrap metal.
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Founded in 1957, the Poltronova company was born from the enthusiastic meeting between Ettore Sottsass and Sergio Cammilli. At that time, many Italian manufacturing companies were passionate about anti-design, which was in the spirit of the times.
But no one will do it with as much passion as Poltronova.
Coming from the art world, Sergio Cammilli wanted to renovate the design of housing and found in Sottsass an ideal ally who became, from the outset, his artistic director.
Poltronova defines itself above all as a place of research and experimentation on materials, shapes and new languages.
During her first years, Poltronova designed modern furniture, close to the Scandinavian style. But Sergio Cammilli and Ettore Sottsass want something more daring. Their proximity to Florence ensures proximity to the city’s new guard of art students. Very quickly inspired by the non-conformists Superstudio and Archizoom, Cammilli and Sottsass asked them to produce collections for Poltronova. They also asked Archizoom to design the new factory and program events at the head office (poetry readings or meditation workshops led by poet Allen Ginsberg). A receptacle for radical trends, this visionary company quickly became an important point of reference in the Italian creative landscape.
Under the artistic direction of Ettore Sottsass, the Poltronova headquarters became "the place to be" for the avant-garde and its experiments.
The greatest talents of the time were supported there, sharing their ideas of deconstructing bourgeois housing in order to lead a new lifestyle, colorful and far from conformist thinking.
Andrea Banzi describes Poltronova as a “Radical factory” that assembles “a catalog of Italian design” through its collaborations with architects like Gae Aulenti, Archizoom, Superstudio, DDL (De Pas D'Urbino & Lomazzi), Paolo Portoghesi, Angelo Mangiarotti etc. …
Ettore Sottsass used to say: “the furniture I designed for Poltronova is not intended for happy and satisfied bourgeois families, but for those who are aware of the disaster of existence”.
Poltronova helped change the history of design and was propelled to the international spotlight as one of the most avant-garde furniture companies in 20th century Italy.
In 2000, with the help of Ettore Sottsass, Roberta Meloni became owner of the brand and decided to rediscover the original essence of Poltronova, according to her lost in the 1980s with a new team more focused on the industrial turn and profits .
In 2005, Roberta Meloni immersed herself in the archives and founded the Centro Studio Poltronova: a research center for students and historians, but also a center for exhibitions and publications, and returned to producing the iconic objects from her diverse catalog. .
According to Roberta Meloni, “What is Poltronova if not a collection of extremely visionary objects, ahead of their time, aggressively non-conformist, full of sensuality? They were born far from the desire to be creative, opposed to the idea of designing something practical. For example, the Superonda sofa, I Mobili Grigi (including the Ultrafragola mirror), and the Safari sofa were not accepted at the time of their design and for many years only a few rare examples were produced.
Today, in a world where the need for personal space is more pressing than ever, the intensity and meaning of these pieces are finally being appreciated. The freedom to exist without inhibition is ultimately a timeless and widespread concept”.
