Provenance
Primavera Gallery, New York
Murray Moss and Franklin Getchell, New York, acquired from the above
Phillips de Pury & Company, New York, "Moss: Dialogues Between Art & Design," October 16, 2012, lot 8
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Exhibited
Ferdinand Lundquist, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1955
Literature
"Mobili a Göteborg," Domus, no. 307, June 1955, illustrated pp. 48-49
Ugo La Pietra, ed., Gio Ponti, New York, 2009, illustrated p. 188
Catalogue Essay
Gio Ponti developed the concept of the "Parete Organizzata" (organized wall), a system for assembling shelves, lighting, and objects all within a single panel, in the late 1940s. The present version, created for an exhibition at the department store Ferdinand Lundquist in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1955, features two shelves for books of different sizes, a four-sided shelf for books and objects, a row of tempered glass shelves for magazines, and an illuminated niche.

The Ferdinand Lundquist exhibition came on the heels of two major American exhibitions that Ponti participated in as part of a larger post-war promotional blitz on the part of Italy following World War II. Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today opened at the Brooklyn Museum in 1950 before going on a three-year tour to twelve other museums. The other exhibition, which took place in 1954 and was initiated by James Plaut at the Institute of Modern Art in Boston, was a solo show devoted to Ponti and also traveled to several different venues in the United States. In Gothenburg, Ponti continued the momentum of the American tours, presenting his furniture designs alongside photographs of recent work by the studio Ponti-Fornaroli-Rosselli. Ponti also presented his industrial designs for Krupp Italiana and, ever the tireless promoter of Italian artisans, he included ceramics by Fausto Melotti and Guido Gambone, as well as Venini glass and enamels by Paolo de Poli.

The “organized wall” served as the ideal promotional piece for these wares; it is a piece of furniture that inspires the collecting and display of treasured objects and books. The magazine shelves, made of the Vitrex glass so favored by Italian architects and designers of the era, offered the perfect place to display influential design journals such as Ponti’s own publication Domus. The “organized wall” was, in sum, an exhibition-ready, Italian-design-promoting machine and it served Ponti’s purposes so well that he made similar versions for subsequent exhibitions, such as the XI Milan Triennale.
Artist Biography
Gio Ponti
Italian • 1891 - 1979
Among the most prolific talents to grace twentieth-century design, Gio Ponti defied categorization. Though trained as an architect, he made major contributions to the decorative arts, designing in such disparate materials as ceramics, glass, wood and metal. A gale force of interdisciplinary creativity, Ponti embraced new materials like plastic and aluminum but employed traditional materials such as marble and wood in original, unconventional ways.
In the industrial realm, he designed buildings, cars, machinery and appliances — notably, the La Cornuta espresso machine for La Pavoni — and founded the ADI (Industrial Designer Association). Among the most special works by Gio Ponti are those that he made in collaboration with master craftsmen such as the cabinetmaker Giordano Chiesa, the illustrator Piero Fornasetti and the enamellist Paolo de Poli.
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Property from a Private Miami Beach Collection

Σ13

Gio Ponti

Illuminated "Parete Organizzata"

circa 1955
Brazilian rosewood-veneered wood, painted wood, painted metal, glass, brass.
82 1/4 x 116 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (208.9 x 295.3 x 46.4 cm)
Executed by Giordano Chiesa, Milan, Italy. Glass produced by Vitrex, Italy. Each glass shelf acid-etched VITREX. Reverse of two shelves impressed ARREDAMENTI/CHIESA/VIA MORTARA 17/MILANO (ITALIA). Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.

Estimate
$60,000 - 80,000

Sold for $87,500

Contact Specialist
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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

1
Line Vautrin
"Sequins" mirror
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $72,500
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2
Line Vautrin
Unique "Satellite Orange" mirror
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $125,000
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3
Jean Royère
"Étoile" double-sided illuminated bar, from the Parachini residence, France
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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4
Jean-Michel Frank
Table lamp
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $175,000
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5
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "Block" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $68,750
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6
Jean-Michel Frank
Large "X" table lamp
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $40,000
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7
This lot is no longer available.
8
Alberto Giacometti and Jean-Michel Frank
"Bird," mounted on box
Estimate $25,000 - 35,000
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9
Jean Royère
Rare wingback armchair
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
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10
Luigi Caccia Dominioni
Rare table lamp
Estimate $8,000 - 12,000
Sold for $18,750
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11
Carlo Mollino
Unique pair of wall-mounted bedside tables from Casa Orengo, Turin
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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12
Gio Ponti
Large covered vase
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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13
Gio Ponti
Illuminated "Parete Organizzata"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $87,500
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14
Hans J. Wegner
"Peacock" easy chair, model no. JH521
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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15
Hans J. Wegner
"Roman" armchair
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $33,750
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16
Eugene Schoen
Important table from the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) Roxy Theatre at Rockefeller Center, New York
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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17
Luis Barragán
Pair of stools from the Cuadra San Cristóbal, Mexico City
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $30,000
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18
Ron Arad
"Blo Void 4"
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $81,250
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19
Scott Burton
Pair of "Perforated Metal Chairs"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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20
Wendell Castle
Unique and important "Environment for Contemplation"
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $312,500
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21
Wendell Castle
Unique "Chaise Rocker"
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $325,000
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22
Wendell Castle
Unique "In God We Trust" chair
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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23
Jun Kaneko
Untitled
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
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24
Harry Bertoia
Monumental "Sonambient" sounding sculpture
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $125,000
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25
This lot is no longer available.
26
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Exceptional and monumental mantel clock case
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
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27
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Massive mendiculus aquatic bird jar and cover
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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28
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Sir Edward George Clarke QC caricatured as a tall distinguished fantastical bird jar and cover
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $175,000
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29
R. W. Martin & Brothers
Colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $275,000
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Design Evening

New York Auction 13 December 2018

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Provenance

Exhibited

Literature

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Gio Ponti

Σ13

Gio Ponti

Illuminated "Parete Organizzata"

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