Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101 >

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Recommended Reading

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Five Things to Know: Ettore Sottsass’ Early Enameled Copper Plates >

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\n","publishDate","2025-04-22T14:48:12.000000Z","authorCredit","Arian Murati","coverPosX",50,"coverPosY",0,"articleUrl","https://www.phillips.com/article/157756058/pontis-programmatic-versatility-at-casa-ceccato","displayOrder",5,"auctionEditorialID",5274,"editorialID",4932,"flocklerID",157756058,"https://flockler.com/thumbs/sites/889/vautrin-1-5f860408-9077-4f8d-87a8-04a6ef15958e_s600x0.jpg","Six pioneering designers and the hallmarks of their style, from Lucie Rie to Judy Kensley McKie. ","Spotlight on Women Designers","

Line Vautrin, ‘Soleil à Pointes’ mirror, model no. 3, circa 1960. Design London.

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Lucie Rie’s unique glazes

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Lucie Rie, Footed bowl, circa 1978. Design London.

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For Lucie Rie (1902–1995), the traditionally decorative practice of glazing was intertwined with the act of making itself. She developed her own glazing recipes and techniques, which were applied with a large brush to dry vessels before firing. These complex glazes beautifully complement the forms of her pieces.

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Left: Lucie Rie, Vase with flaring lip, 1988. Right: Lucie Rie,Vase, 1988. Design London.

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Her imaginative white and light-toned glazes are some of her most impressive technical achievements, highly sought after by collectors for their extraordinary surface, tone, and texture. Rie’s dark glazes are also highly prized owing to their distinctive colour — reminiscent of coffee beans — which is achieved by mixing pure manganese dioxide with gum before firing at high temperatures. The flair of her singular technique is on display in her pitted glazes — the result of brushing particularly viscous glazes on oxide-stained clays. These glazes form bubbles that survive the firing process, imparting subtle colours and rich textures.

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Left: Lucie Rie, Vase with flaring lip, circa 1974. Right: Lucie Rie, Conical bowl, circa 1962. Design London.

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Line Vautrin’s Talosel resin

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Left: Line Vautrin, Rare mirror, circa 1965. Right: Line Vautrin, Rare table lamp, circa 1965. Design London.

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The work of French designer Line Vautrin (1913–1997) embodies a certain kind of midcentury Parisian elegance, and her Talosel resin mirrors have captivated design enthusiasts and collectors for decades. Talosel resin, which Vautrin developed in the 1950s, is comprised of layers of cellulose that the designer hand-worked and finished with a layer of coloured mirrored glass. This revolutionary and versatile material allows for Vautrin’s intricate, bold, and textured designs that are both lightweight and durable. Beyond the sheer inventiveness, there’s a playful curiosity to these works that is as evocative as it is inspiring.

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Gabriella Crespi’s Escapism

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Gabriella Crespi, ‘Ippopotamo con piccolo’, circa 1973. Design London.

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The 1970s saw major cultural shifts as people sought ways to escape the pressures of modern life. The work of Italian architect and designer Gabriella Crespi (1922–2017) reflected this desire by drawing inspiration from nature, mythology, and surrealism. Her sculptural designs often featured organic, fluid shapes that moved away from the rigid geometric forms of earlier modernism.

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Judy Kensley McKie’s experimental woodwork

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Judy Kensley McKie, ‘Leopard Couch’, 1983. Design London.

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Visionary American designer Judy Kensley McKie (b. 1944) is lauded for her experimental and labor-intensive approach to woodworking. Her pieces are very rare — she often produces only seven or eight per year — and transcend their functional nature, showcasing how beauty and functionality can coexist harmoniously. The above ‘Leopard Couch’ perfectly embodies the designer’s meticulous approach, crafted of mortise-and-tenon joinery, bent-lamination, and carving. It also represents her first experiments in bleaching mahogany, for which she would become well known. As she recalled in an article for the journal Fine Woodworking, “I had to repeat the process three times before I got good results. What finally worked was doing the job outdoors, in bright sunlight. Then I burned in the spots with a propane torch, another adventure. I’m always feeling my way as I go.”

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Suzanne Ramié’s mix of old and new

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Suzanne Ramié, Vase, circa 1955. Design London.

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Though the French ceramist Suzanne Ramié (1905–1974) is perhaps best known for founding the Madoura Pottery studio in Vallauris with her husband Georges — and their subsequent collaborations with Pablo Picasso — she was a formidable maker in her own right. Ramié viewed her ceramic works as a natural extension of her explorations into drawing and painting. Her skilled drafting background led her to create imaginative forms that challenged the traditional figures and techniques prevalent in Vallauris at the time. In her ceramics, she explored clean, pure lines which were accentuated by vibrant and colourful glazed enamel.

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Claude Lalanne’s nature-inspired designs

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Claude Lalanne, Tray, circa 1983. Design London.

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Along with her husband François-Xavier, the French sculptor and designer Claude Lalanne (1925–2019) needs no introduction. She drew much of her inspiration from nature and was particularly fascinated with flora and fauna, notably seen in the gilt bronze ornamentation on the above tray. Her interest in nature was as symbolic as it was literal, perhaps most clearly seen in her use of bamboo. Lalanne celebrated bamboo’s delicate but strong structure, transforming it into sculptural furniture and art pieces in a reflection of her ability to elevate natural materials, blurring the lines between art and nature, form and function.

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Recommended Reading

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Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101 >

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Five Things to Know: Ettore Sottsass’ Early Enameled Copper Plates >

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\n","2025-04-10T14:16:50.000000Z","Jesse Limbacher","https://www.phillips.com/article/157323366/spotlight-on-women-designers-auction-london",4,5273,4914,157323366,"https://flockler.com/thumbs/sites/889/sottsass-final-lead-7947d281-cbef-4d84-bb89-4fc81d6d51aa_s600x0.jpg","Insights into the remarkable enameled copper plates created by the father of the Memphis Group for Il Sestante Gallery in Milan.","Five Things to Know: Ettore Sottsass’ Early Enameled Copper Plates","

A page from the first catalogue of the Il Sestante gallery, Milan, 1959. Archivio Fulvio Ferrari. Torino / Erede Ettore Sottsass DACS, London 2025.

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Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass, Jr. (1917–2007) remains a highly influential figure in 20th century design. He produced a substantial and diverse body of work over a career that spanned more than six decades and is renowned as the founder of the famed Memphis Group.

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Now, an offering of the designer’s early enameled copper plates comes to auction at Phillips London this April. These plates are a crucial milestone in his career, offering a glimpse into his early exploration of materials, colour, and technique — elements that would later come to define him as one of the most impactful pioneers of 20th century design.

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Sottsass’ breakthrough into the design world

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Ettore Sottsass, Jr., Plate, circa 1958. Design London.

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In 1958, Ettore Sottsass unveiled a remarkable collection of enameled copper plates for the opening of Il Sestante Gallery in Milan. This collaboration, which occurred before his involvement with the Memphis Group, played a pivotal role in establishing his reputation within the design world. The gallery, founded by Marisa Villa Scarzella and Lina Villa Matteucci on Milan’s iconic Via della Spiga, focused on industrial craftsmanship, art, and graphic design. This collaboration laid the groundwork for Sottsass’ later successes.

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A tradition reimagined

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Sottsass reimagined the traditional craft of enameled copper, transforming it into a modern medium for design. His use of vibrant colours and striking patterns in this collection was revolutionary, pushing boundaries and significantly impacting the design world of the late 1950s. This impact is still felt by designers today.

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Sottsass never shied away from a challenge

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Ettore Sottsass, Jr., Plate, circa 1958. Design London.

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The technique of enameling copper is highly complex, yet Sottsass approached it with great skill and enthusiasm. His 1:1 scale heliogravures, coloured with wax pastels, served as the foundation for almost 100 unique works. These drawings were used by the artisan Franco Bucci of Mastro 3 to bring the works to life. The process required multiple firings in a kiln at 1,000°C, resulting in copper plates with a smooth, glass-like enamel layer. The labor-intensive process produced works that were both functional and visually striking.

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La vita a colori

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Sottsass employed a chromatic-symbolic language that became a hallmark of his design style. He used a bold combination of contrasting colours to create visually captivating objects with deep meaning. These colours symbolized the essence of Italian design: optimism, vitality, and a deep connection to the joy of life. Through this use of colour, Sottsass infused his pieces with a sense of emotional depth and symbolism.

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Out of this world: Sottsass as mystic philosopher

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Ettore Sottsass, Jr., ‘Simbolo della calma' plate, circa 1958. Design London.

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Sottsass drew inspiration from a diverse array of cultures and artistic traditions. His enameled copper plates reflect his fascination with ancient art, cosmology, and mysticism. In many of his sketches, Sottsass documented his sources of inspiration, such as in the ‘Simbolo della calma’ plate (lot 21), which embodies symbols of calm and other intellectual concepts that gave his work a deeper, metaphorical significance. The geometric shapes and markings on each piece evoke a sense of mystery, as if they were vessels of ancient wisdom or sacred knowledge, inviting the viewer to explore the layers of meaning hidden within each design.

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Recommended Reading

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Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101 >

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\n","2025-04-10T13:54:39.000000Z","https://www.phillips.com/article/157280197/five-things-to-know-ettore-sottsass-early-enameled-copper-plates",5272,4913,157280197,"https://flockler.com/thumbs/sites/889/ron-arad-2-effc69b9-e9e8-466b-a7c7-42b6feff993d_s600x0.jpg","Break through a sea of information to discover what defines the category and the names to know. ","Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101","

Ron Arad, ‘Thick Vac’ chair, 2006. Design London.

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Our upcoming London Design auction offers several postmodern and contemporary works, bringing with it an opportunity to break down the category for budding and experienced collectors alike. Because the aesthetic approach in this category can vary so widely from one designer to another, we find that we may understand these works more deeply by looking at what unites them. From there, as art and design lovers, we can zoom in to discover what unique aspects of these designers’ works excite us most.

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Below, we discover what unites a wide range of designers, from Shiro Kuramata, to Gaetano Pesce, Paul Evans, Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti, Marc Newson, Ron Arad, Allen Jones, and Fernando and Humberto Campana.

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Pushing material boundaries

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Gaetano Pesce, Unique coffee table, from the Dujardin shop, Brussels, 1994. Design London.

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These designers are known for the innovative materials in their creations. Whether it’s Shiro Kuramata’s use of industrial materials, Gaetano Pesce’s experimentation with resins, or the Campana brothers’ incorporation of unexpected materials like stuffed toys. Each designer has used materiality to express their creativity and challenge design norms, often making a statement about the world we live in.

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Shiro Kuramata, ‘Miss Blanche’ chair, designed 1988, executed before 1991. Design London.

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In Kuramata’s above ‘Miss Blanche’ chair, synthetic roses are suspended in acrylic resin, showcasing his expressive use of commercial materials. Conceptually, these materials in this context raise questions about beauty, artifice, and femininity in conversation with Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play A Streetcar Named Desire. Gaetano Pesce’s playful coffee table showcases his innovative use of vibrant, multicoloured resin, reflecting his ongoing fascination with form and colour.

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Bold, sculptural aesthetics

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Paul Evans, ‘Stalagmite’ dining table, model no. PE-102, 1972. Design London.

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Sculptural statement pieces abound in the work of these designers, often blurring the line between furniture and art. From Paul Evans’ metalwork to Ron Arad’s flowing, curvilinear forms, and Marc Newson’s organic design, we discover a shared focus on bold shapes and expressive forms.

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Marc Newson, ‘Extruded Table 3’, 2008. Design London.

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The sculptural qualities of Marc Newson’s ‘Extruded Table 3’ invite viewers to contemplate negative space, once remarking that his works have “as much to do with what is not there as what is there.” Likewise, in works by Ron Arad, such as his iconic ‘The Big Easy’ series, we discover his exceptional ability to coax volume and undulation from his materials.

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Rejecting Modernism

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Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti, ‘Kawakubo’ chest of drawers, 1994. Design London.

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Many of these designers rose to prominence during the Postmodern Design movement, which rejected Modernism's minimalist ideals in favor of more experimental, eclectic, and dynamic approaches to form and function. Designers like Gaetano Pesce and the duo of Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti were heavily influenced by this avant-garde approach, which paved the way for contemporary design.

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Garouste and Bonetti’s above work is characteristic of this approach, created as a tribute to the avant-garde fashion designer and founder of Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo. Her revolutionary approach to fashion — involving deconstruction, unconventional silhouettes, and sculptural forms — shares principles with design movements that emerged from postmodernism through bold experimentation and rejection of traditional, utilitarian norms.

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You know it when you see it

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Allen Jones, ‘Refrigerator’, 2002. Design London.

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Strong and identifiable personal design language is also a hallmark of postmodern and contemporary design — whether it’s Allen Jones’ provocative figurative works, Shiro Kuramata’s minimalist but emotional pieces, or the Campanas’ organic and socially conscious designs. For any of these designers, their works are instantly recognizable wherever you encounter them.

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Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana, ‘Banquete’ chair, designed 2002, produced 2006. Design London.

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This recognizability often stems from the identity of the makers. For Allen Jones, a Pop Art influence meets his own British sense of irony in works that probe the relationships between the body, the machine, and consumer culture. Likewise, the Campana brothers’ works are deeply rooted in their Brazilian culture and traditions, confronting the environmental issues that threaten them head-on.

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Recommended Reading

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Five Things to Know: Ettore Sottsass’ Early Enameled Copper Plates >

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\n","2025-04-10T13:31:48.000000Z","https://www.phillips.com/article/157326227/collecting-guide-postmodern-and-contemporary-design-101-auction",2,5271,4912,157326227,"https://flockler.com/thumbs/sites/889/ponti-desk-64ccfafa-8fcc-43a7-a6b0-0ad92115b5b4_s600x0.jpg","From Jean Royère to Gio Ponti, Napoleone Martinuzzi, and more — these are the works our specialists would love to live with. ","Specialist Picks: Design London","

Gio Ponti, Unique desk, from Casa Ceccato, Milan, circa 1950. Design London.

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Gio Ponti

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Sofia Sayn-Wittgenstein, Head of Design, London.

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I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a work by Gio Ponti that I wouldn’t want to live with, but I’m especially drawn to his pieces where he pushes the boundaries of sculptural expression — like with this Unique desk from Casa Ceccato in Milan. There’s a sense of theatrical drama in the way the legs splay outward with their elongated brass sabots, giving the piece a sensual, almost animalistic presence. The burr-walnut veneer, arranged like interlocking puzzle pieces in an irregular pattern, adds a painterly quality that distorts a direct reading of the form and wraps fluidly around the undulating legs. Ponti masterfully balances playfulness with precision. The result is a piece that exudes Mannerist elegance while feeling both modern and timeless — a striking testament to his mid-century genius.

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Lucie Rie

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Lucie Rie, Footed bowl, circa 1978. Design London.

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Antonia King, Head of Sale, Design, London.

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This exquisite Footed bowl, timeless in its beauty and modernist elegance, evokes a harmoniously serene feeling of simplicity and stillness while also being imbued with so much life. Here, we see a more complex variation of other open-form bowls, with its cantilevered kick-like angle at the foot and pinpoint delicacy of the inlaid design which continues both on the inside and outside, creating an illusion of thinness. It is as though Lucie Rie, with immense dexterity, was drawing concentric circles in space. Rie’s measured use of decoration and colour, as seen here in the exceptionally rare pastel blue hues for this example of bowl, is one which I love for its ability to conjure a sense of calm. Another example, which features on the cover of the first edition of Tony Birks’ celebrated book Lucie Rie, is in the collection of the National Crafts Museum, Tokyo. For me, the perfection in this work lies in the fact that it is not ‘machine-perfect’, but in the undulating softness that comes from being made by the human hand, revealing Rie’s minimalist approach and commitment to looking for the ‘essential’ in art.

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Carlo Scarpa

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Carlo Scarpa, Two rare armchairs, 1935–1937. Design London.

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Domenico Raimondo, Head of Design, Europe.

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These armchairs, designed by Carlo Scarpa in 1935 for the Aula Magna during his first iteration of Ca’ Foscari, embody a studied, linear simplicity that reflects Scarpa’s reverence for drawing as a precise tool for both communication and execution. One which he used as a ‘Categorical Imperative’ quoting Leon Battista Alberti’s ‘nulla dies sine linea – not a single day without a line’ as a guiding principle for his students. Scarpa once told his students he produced 250 drawings just to design a hinge that would open in both directions.

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In a video interview, Scarpa recalled his arrival in Venice as a teenager from Treviso, and how the city instantly captivated him. He spoke of an innate ‘bizantinismo’ a Byzantine quality intrinsic to Venice that manifests in an unrelenting attention to detail.

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On close inspection, what appears to be simplicity in these chairs is, in fact, the result of a highly considered composition of tectonic elements. The wooden structure reveals a sophisticated interplay of components that counterbalance and elevate one another with quiet precision. The refinement evokes an exhausted geometric beauty expressed in the construction’s details.

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Once an architect always an architect, and as one, I’m particularly drawn to these chairs because they exemplify Scarpa’s unique ability to transform something as utilitarian as a chair into a sophisticated architectural gesture. It is a modernist work deeply anchored in the archetype of the traditional chair — one that I once recognized in a painting by Cima da Conegliano at the Hermitage, his Annunciation from 1495.

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Jean Royère

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Jean Royère, Coffee table, circa 1955. Design London.

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Elie Massaoutis, Head of Design, France.

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The Coffee table by Jean Royère is my top pick for its elegant design and rich history. Documented in the archives of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, this model table was also part of the Hotel Philadelphia furnishings in Beirut, showcasing Royère's innovative approach in the late 1940s. Its charming clover-shaped tabletop exemplifies his love for sinuous curves and playful motifs, reflecting a decorative style that resonates with me. This table represents a pivotal era in design when Royère was redefining interior spaces and its connection to Lebanese diplomat Mr. Ali Bazzi adds depth, as it was acquired during a significant personal celebration. The Coffee table embodies artistry and craftsmanship, making it a standout piece within 20th-century design and a testament to Royère's enduring legacy.

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Shiro Kuramata

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Shiro Kuramata, ‘Miss Blanche’ chair, designed 1988, executed before 1991. Design London.

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Madalena Horta e Costa, Specialist, Design.

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Shiro Kuramata’s ‘Miss Blanche’ chair stands as a poetic embodiment of ephemeral beauty, illusion, and fragility — qualities that resonate deeply with the character it’s named after, Blanche DuBois from Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The chair’s transparent acrylic seat structure, in which artificial roses appear to float suspended, evokes a dreamlike quality, blurring the line between materiality and imagination. This ethereal effect mirrors Blanche DuBois’s desperate retreat into illusion to escape the harshness of her reality. Just as Blanche cloaks herself in pretensions of gentility and romance, Kuramata’s chair disguises its weight and rigidity beneath an appearance of weightlessness and delicacy. What draws me to ‘Miss Blanche’ is not only its aesthetic allure but its conceptual depth. It encapsulates a narrative tension between appearance and truth — a central theme in both the play and the design. The roses, artificial and frozen in time, suggest a yearning for beauty untouched by decay, echoing Blanche’s futile attempts to preserve youth and grace. Kuramata’s work transcends functional furniture; it becomes a meditation on transience and artifice. For me, ‘Miss Blanche’ is more than a chair — it is a quiet, poignant homage to the fragility of dreams and the seductive power of illusion.

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Josef Frank

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Josef Frank, ‘Flora‘ cabinet, model no. B 955, designed 1938, produced 1965. Design London.

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Margherita Manca, Senior Cataloguer, Design, London.

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Of all the works in our spring auction, the ‘Flora’ cabinet, model B 955, by Josef Frank for the Swedish interiors firm Svenskt Tenn, is one of the pieces I enjoyed researching the most. The cabinet is simple in form with an instantly captivating surface. Its main body is covered in 19th-century botanical prints from Svensk Botanik, a landmark in natural history publishing by J. W. Palmstruch, which I had the pleasure to leaf through. I love how these illustrations, once bound in volumes for scientific study, have been reimagined here as a striking decorative detail, inextricably entwined with the designer’s ethos. Frank had a predilection for the decorative — not as ornamentation for its own sake, but as a vital source of joy, identity, and meaning in the everyday. The ‘Flora’ cabinet is a perfect example of this belief: its surface is not merely embellished but expressive. The decoration doesn’t serve to mask function — it becomes the function, inviting us to live with beauty, curiosity, and wonder. For Frank, as for me, that is perhaps the point of design itself.

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Napoleone Martinuzzi

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Napoleone Martinuzzi, Rare table lamp, model no. 9010, circa 1930. Design London.

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Carlotta Pintucci, Cataloguer & Assistant to Head of Design, Europe.

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Have you ever had the pleasure of visiting the Vittoriale degli Italiani, Gabriele D’Annunzio’s private residence? If so, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the vibrant eclecticism of his collection — especially the stunning glassworks by his beloved artist, Napoleone Martinuzzi. This very connection is a compelling reason to bring one of his exquisite pieces into your own collection. Take, for instance, this table lamp — an absolute masterpiece of elegance and refinement, perfect for any bedside. Its intricate craftsmanship and timeless beauty are sure to enchant any designer or admirer of fine art. As D’Annunzio wrote in a letter to Martinuzzi: “Carissimo Napè, your creations have finally delighted me, though not quite satisfied me. I devoured them all in the same evening. Therefore, I’m in need of a new harvest...” And like D’Annunzio, I believe no one could ever truly be satiated by such overwhelming beauty.

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Kaj Gottlob

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Kaj Gottlob, Rare side chair, designed for the Lolland Falsters Industri & Landbrugsbank, Nykøbing Falster, circa 1935. Design London.

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Tabitha Blackburn, Intern, Design, London.

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A discreet yet salient fragment of Danish design history, Kaj Gottlob’s Rare side chair, specially made around 1935 for the vault room of the Lolland Falsters Industrial & Agricultural Bank in Nykøbing Falster, southern Denmark, is my pick for the upcoming London Design sale. Whilst based on the archetypal Greek ‘Klismos’ form prominent in Danish classical revival furniture, the chair features a base of nickel-plated steel, an unexpected medium choice linked to Gottlob’s holistic, context-conscious vision for the interior of the industrial building. Swedish designers beat their Danish counterparts to the craze for steel furniture at the onset of the 1930s, though with his models for the bank, Gottlob was an early pioneer. For me, a particularly compelling detail is the chair’s label, which confirms its production by one of the first known dedicated manufacturers of steel furniture in Scandinavia: Malmö-based company DS Staal-Stel. With only a handful of furnishings remaining today from the long-forgotten interior, Gottlob’s chair is a rare survival, representing a remarkable early instance of the adoption of a material now synonymous with Danish Modern design.

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Judy Kensley McKie

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Judy Kensley McKie, ‘Leopard Couch’, 1983. Design London.

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Rosie Simon, Intern, Design, London.

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I imagine Judy Kensley McKie’s ‘Leopard Couch’ at the centre of a busy home — perhaps a first resting point after coming in the door, or as a gathering point along a kitchen wall while someone cooks. Specifically, I find myself thinking about my grandparents’ kitchen in the suburban house my father grew up in. One wall of the room was made up of a bank of windows, the sills of which I remember being decorated with expressive carved folk-art animals and a veritable farm of weathervanes. McKie’s couch — in its deft integration of form and function and its combination of studio furniture technique and American folk-art spirit — slots well into this scene and into the broader narrative of American craft and design, which was my first, though unconscious, introduction to the field of design and the practice of building a collection. Without ever sitting on it, McKie’s couch feels comfortable, nostalgic to me in the best possible way, speaking to her skill at manipulating wood in a way that imbues it with feeling and memory to create heirloom pieces in the truest sense of the word.

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Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101 >

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Recommended Reading

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Five Things to Know: Ettore Sottsass’ Early Enameled Copper Plates >

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\n","2025-04-14T16:30:24.000000Z","https://www.phillips.com/article/157484057/specialist-picks-design-london",1,5270,4925,157484057,"https://flockler.com/thumbs/sites/889/ponti-writing-lead-b917a5a6-5f97-4790-be0e-1e0568b1f5e4_s600x0.jpg","Writing and drawing go hand-in-hand in these five unique letter drawings by Gio Ponti.","Creative Diary: Gio Ponti's Letters","

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In contemporary society, we have become accustomed to brief, immediate, and often virtual conversations, where the keyboard has replaced the pen. Written communication, once defined by the physical act of writing by hand on a blank sheet of paper, now feels almost distant, even archaic. If we were to write everything by hand, after holding the pen for some time, we would quickly realise how tiring it can be for the hand. Yet, it is precisely these letters written by Gio Ponti that reveal a mode of communication that, in today’s world, seems to belong to another era, and for this reason, they captivate us so deeply.

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Each morning, Ponti would wake up at dawn, and the first thing he felt compelled to do was write letters, notes, or communications — not only for friends and family, but also for his collaborators. This ritual, reminiscent of the Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way, became a creative diary, where thoughts flowed unfiltered onto the page. From the first moments of the day, his mind was already directed toward others, and those thoughts quickly took shape as delicate marks on paper. His writing — smooth, fluid, and sometimes almost feminine — captured the speed, spontaneity, and inventiveness of his thoughts, always eager to leave a mark, to convey an idea, a concept, or a new vision.

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Left: Gio Ponti, 'Villa a Caracas' letter, circa 1955. Right: Gio Ponti, 'Felice di sapere' letter, circa 1955. Design London.

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These letters, therefore, are not merely written communications; they are a journey through a landscape of words and lines that intertwine. The marks on the paper evolve beyond simple letters: at times, they transform into geometric segments or planes, while at other times, they become human figures or objects that, though inanimate, acquire an active role. These marks are not just a reflection of thought but an extension of Ponti’s character, confronting themes that repeatedly appeared in his artistic work, such as the iconography of hands, angels, and horses. Just as his architecture was designed to respond to the needs of its inhabitants and the surrounding context, his drawings and marks come to life only when they serve as communication, intended for a specific recipient. Every stroke on the page becomes part of a journey, a path leading toward the “visit” of a friend.

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In 1987, the Jannone Gallery in Milan hosted an exhibition titled Gio Ponti: Cento Lettere, which later gave rise to the eponymous book. This volume collects one hundred of his letters, now treasured as intimate, personal gems—a testament that invites us into the very heart of Ponti’s work. The book opens with a letter addressed to Lisa, his daughter, in which Ponti writes: “I wanted to write to you, Lisa, but instead I drew. What does this mean?” (Sermisani, 1987, 10). This simple yet profound reflection encourages us to explore the role of drawing and imagery as forms of communication that transcend words.

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Left: Gio Ponti, 'Ginori' letter, circa 1955. Right: Gio Ponti, 'Cavaliere' letter, circa 1955. Design London.

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In Lezioni Americane: Sei Proposte per il Prossimo Millennio (American Lessons: Six Proposals for the Next Millennium), Italo Calvino delves into the concept of imagination and fantasy, defining imagination as “a place where it rains inside.” According to Calvino, images are capable of expressing what language cannot, and the reader’s ability to recreate these images in their mind is essential. Yet, today, we are overwhelmed by so many images that we can no longer discern whether what we see is the result of our direct experience or something imposed upon us by the media.

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Calvino, reflecting on the concept of visibility, argues that it is a value worth preserving. He expresses concern that our capacity for imagination may fade under the pressure of external stimuli. This is why, despite technological advancements, it remains crucial to preserve the habit of reading, for it is through reading that we continue to nurture our imagination.

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Gio Ponti, 'Miei cari' letter, circa 1955. Design London.

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In this context, the letters of Gio Ponti provide a valuable source of inspiration. They invite us to rediscover our ability to imagine in unconventional ways, to look beyond immediate reality, and to explore new worlds through images and symbols. Ponti offers us an important lesson: communication is not just about words, but about signs, gestures, and images that, like his architecture, come to life only when intended for a specific person and a meaningful interaction. In a world that is increasingly digital and distant, these letters remind us of the importance of maintaining our capacity for direct, authentic, and imaginative communication.

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Ultimately, images and words unite to communicate a thought. Imagination serves as the force that coordinates the sense of discourse.

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Recommended Reading

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Collecting Guide: Postmodern and Contemporary Design 101 >

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Jacques Ruelland and Dani Ruelland

《瓶子–來自「瓶子」系列》

完整圖錄內容

Jacques Ruelland and Dani Ruelland