Gio Ponti - Design New York Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | Phillips

Create your first list.

Select an existing list or create a new list to share and manage lots you follow.

  • “[Villa Arreaza] expresses a way of life which, while it is of a privileged situation, is also a testimony to a life deliberately immersed in nature…the choice of a natural life whose days and physical existence are hosted in the greenery.”
    Domus, March 1955

     

    In 1954, Blanca Arreaza commissioned Gio Ponti to design the Villa Arreaza, also called the Diamantina for the diamond motifs that decorate the villa’s façade. Some of Ponti’s most notable works are his villas as they represent his commitment to total design, and the Diamantina was the third and final villa he designed in Venezuela. In creating this interior, he aimed to capitalize on the proximity of nature and the tropical climate of Caracas by designing a home that blurred the boundaries of indoor and outdoor spaces. Mrs. Arreaza, who wanted a home well-suited for hosting large parties, requested that Ponti maximize the villa’s gathering spaces. Employing an open floor plan, foldable walls, and large windows, Ponti effectively fulfilled Mrs. Arreaza’s requests, delivering a space that was both beautiful and extraordinarily functional. 

     

    Interior of Villa Arreaza, Caracas, Venezuela.

    A strong believer in joie de vivre and its significance in architectural design, Ponti committed these principles to the Villa Arreaza through his thoughtfully designed immersive spaces, as well by utilizing a blue and white color motif throughout the villa. The furniture, tiled floors, and even the ceilings are covered in geometric blue and white patterns.

     

    Drawing by Gio Ponti, circa 1954.

    Though the villa was partially demolished and renovated in the 1990s, the present lamps remain and serve as a testament to Ponti’s original blue and white vision for the Diamantina. Ponti himself said, “I'm happy because it's all based on one color, as I like it; and it is all in white and blue.”

    • Literature

      Anty Pansera et. al., Arredoluce: Catalogo ragionato 1943-1987, Milan, 2018, pp. 178, 305

    • 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.

      View More Works

37

Pair of "Luna" floor lamps, designed for Villa Arreaza, Caracas, Venezuela

circa 1954
Painted metal, painted aluminum, acrylic.
Taller: 88 in. (223.5 cm) high
Shorter: 72 in. (182.9 cm) high

Manufactured by Arredoluce, Monza, Italy. Interior of each shade with manufacturer's paper label printed MADE IN ITALY/ARREDOLUCE MONZA. Together with a certificate of expertise from the Gio Ponti Archives.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for $16,510

Contact Specialist

Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist
Associate Head of Sale
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 917 207 9090

Design

New York Auction 5 December 2023