Just two months and two days before Italy entered World War II, the VII Triennale opened in Milan. On the second floor of the Palazzo dell’Arte, nestled between displays of metal and glass works and a larger exhibit of Italian artisanal crafts, was a small but significant presentation of Fontana Arte’s glassworks and furniture designs. Curated by Pietro Chiesa, the firm’s creative director at the time, the exhibition featured a selection of his rare and unique creations alongside other recent works from Fontana Arte.
The May 1940 issue of Domus praised Fontana Arte’s contributions to the Triennale, describing the firm’s presentation as “triumphant” and a representation of “absolute perfection of style.” While this comment referred to the exhibition as a whole, it equally applies to the present vitrine, which was included in the Fontana Arte display. The author in Domus highlighted the piece, writing, “[It] is very interesting for its original shape and the technical skill with which the crystals are connected to the wooden structure.”
Pietro Chiesa, Drawing for the present model. Made of elm and featuring a distinctive reticular design, the vitrine combines a wooden exterior with an illuminated glass interior, creating a unique "cage-like" effect. This piece stands out within Fontana Arte’s body of work, as it does not have an immediate aesthetic precedent within the firm’s production of the 1930s. While Fontana Arte produced various bar cabinets and illuminated cabinets, some of which feature lattice-like decorations, this vitrine is exceptionally rare—not only for its form and style but also for its provenance.
Despite the political turmoil in Italy during World War II, the vitrine remained intact and did not appear on the public market until it was first brought to auction in 1998. It was later acquired by the New York-based art dealer Brent Sikkema, who retained the piece in his personal collection for two decades.
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Lots 126, 129, and 201 in the present auction come from the collection of pioneering gallerist Brent Sikkema (1948-2024). Sikkema was renowned for championing the work of some of the principal artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including Kara Walker, Vik Muniz, Mark Bradford, Deana Lawson, and many others, and for broadening the market for Latin American art.
Mr. Sikkema studied photography and filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. After earning his BFA in 1970 he became director of traveling exhibitions, and later director of exhibitions, at the Visual Studies Workshop, the groundbreaking photographic collective in Rochester, New York. In 1976 he relocated to Boston where he worked for Vision Gallery, handling 19th and 20th century photography, later becoming its owner and maintaining an adventurous curatorial program. He made his first foray into the New York City gallery world in 1989, exhibiting in a temporary space. He opened a permanent gallery in 1991; called Wooster Gardens, it quickly became known as a premiere venue for contemporary art. In 1999, Sikkema moved the gallery to Chelsea, partnering with Michael Jenkins under the name Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Sikkema’s generous support inspired loyalty in the artists in his stable, many of whom chose to remain with the gallery even after receiving invitations from the larger mega-galleries.
Provenance
Private collection, Italy
Christie's East, New York, "Important Design," November 27, 1999, lot 97
Liz O'Brien Inc., New York
Private collection, New York, acquired from the above by the present owner, 2004Exhibited
"Sala di Fontana Arte," VII Triennale, Palazzo dell'Arte, Milan, April 6-June 9, 1940
Literature
"Meraviglie di Fontana alla Triennale," Domus, no. 149, May 1940, illustrated p. 52
Franco Deboni, Fontana Arte: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand, Turin, 2012, illustrated fig. 200
Sergio Montefusco, Fontana Arte: Repertorio 1933-1943 dalle immagini dell'epoca, Genova, 2012, illustrated p. 233
Property from the Collection of Brent Sikkema
129
Rare vitrine with integrated glass tray, from the VII Triennale, Milan, Italy
circa 1939
Elm, elm-veneered wood, brass, mirrored glass, glass.
60 x 31 1/2 x 16 3/4 in. (152.4 x 80 x 42.5 cm)
Executed by Fontana Arte, Milan, Italy. Reverse branded with firm's mark F/X 1631 F/X.
Estimate
$50,000 - 70,000
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist, Head of Sale, New York
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 212 940 1267
Design
New York Auction 11 December 2024
126
This lot is no longer available.
203
This lot is no longer available.
