Italy 1916 - 2001
The Italian architect and designer Zanuso was a leading figure in 20th century Italian industrial design, both in terms of practice and theory. Born in Milan, he studied architecture at the Polytechnic (1935-39) and set up an architectural office after the Second World War. He also served as co-editor of Domus magazine and editor of Casabella magazine, during which time he began working as an industrial designer. This included the design of a tubular metal chair for the 1948 Low Cost Furniture Competition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 1950 he was commissioned for experimental furniture designs using foam rubber, newly developed by the Pirelli Company, underlining his career-long interest in the relationship between form and technology. The successful outcome of this work led to the formation of the Arflex Company as a subsidiary of Pirelli, with Zanuso assigned the key design role. His 1951 designs for Arflex included the foam-rubber upholstered Lady armchair, the Bridge folding chair, the St Moritz recliner, and a terrace furnished with foam rubber furniture shown at the Milan Triennale. Later Arflex designs by Zanuso included the Martingala armchair (1953) and Sleep-o-matic sofabed (1954). From 1958 Zanuso enjoyed a productive working relationship with Richard Sapper, resulting in a number of classic and elegant designs. These included several products for the Brionvega company, most notably a series of radios and televisions, including the Doney 14 and the Black 201 models, and the K 1340 polyethylene chair for Kartell (1964). Other designs by Zanuso himself included the 1100 Superautomatico sewing machine for Borletti (1956) and the ABS plastic Grillo telephone for Siemens. Zanuso's significance has been widely acknowledged through the many prizes that his work has received over the years since 1948, including Gold Medals at six and the Gran Premio at three Milan Triennali, as well as five Compasso d'Oro awards. His work is also represented in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Texts and pictures by; Decopedia a 1stdib.
Triennale Sofa by Marco Zanuso
France1951
Beautiful rare early version of the Triennale Sofa by the Italian Designer Marco Zanuso for Arflex France with original linen like fabric in very good orginal condition.
very good original condition, foam is still soft, fabric is in very good shape with no wear, one leg is missing brass cover but I'm working on replacing it with a new cover.
