By Arch. Giampiero Bosoni, author of Osvaldo Borsani: Architect, Designer, Entrepreneur
The years following the Second World War were a very prolific period for ABV (Arredamenti Borsani Varedo) which had by then passed directly into the creative hands of Osvaldo Borsani. The studio had increasing opportunities to design for important private and public commissions. It was a period during which Osvaldo Borsani intensified his work and nurtured friendships with a pioneering circle of artists: a successful choice which had already been adopted by his father Gaetano Borsani.
Under Osvaldo, this approach and partnership with artists became an ABV hallmark that distinguished the firm’s work. Starting from the design for Casa Gulinello (circa 1949), we begin to perceive elements of these collaborations and notice how creative contributions, in this case by Lucio Fontana (who had already been involved with villa Borsani, 1948) are integrated within ABV’s furnishings. This synergy went beyond paintings and sculptures such as the drawings on the pillar in the living room or the appliques above the bed. A fully-fledged integration between the furniture and artworks was underway.
This concept is clearly embodied in present model side table, shown above in the living room of Casa Gulinello, where the vertical brass element supporting the glass top is wrapped in a waving cascade of wooden drapery painted in white, pink, and gold. The artistic collaboration is equally present in the room’s console, supported by a pair of painted wood winged and veiled cherubs. Overall, the Casa Gulinello project can be considered as a unique and refined example of creative intervention, centered around personalized pieces, and enriched by Fontana’s imaginative contributions.
This side table, with its strong réaction poétique, is certainly among the most expressive and surreal pieces conceived by Borsani in close collaboration with Fontana in the post-war period. The original plaster model of the wooden ribbon carving, as well as records of a variant of this model table made for Casa P., are held in the Osvaldo Borsani Archive. This model table was also presented at 1951 IX Triennale in Milan.
Provenance
Casa P., Milan Aste Boetto, Genoa, 'An Italian Design Auction', 24 October 2011, lot 768 Private collection, Rome Wright, Chicago, 'Important Design', 7 June 2012, lot 205 Acquired from the above by the present owner
Literature
Irene de Guttry and Maria Paola Maino, Il Mobile Italiano Degli Anni '40 e '50, Bari, 2010, p. 112 Giampiero Bosoni, Osvaldo Borsani: Architect, Designer, Entrepreneur, Milan, 2018, pp. 363, 593
circa 1950 Glass, painted and gilded wood, brass, marble. 62.4 cm (24 5/8 in.) high, 58.2 cm (22 7/8 in.) diameter Produced by Arredamenti Borsani Varedo, Italy. Together with a certificate of expertise from the Osvaldo Borsani Archive.