Relax Sofa Set by Marco Zanuso for Poltronova, 1970s

Poltronova is known for embracing the creativity that opposites can introduce to a space. Its radical modernist furniture and lighting fixtures are simultaneously grounded in classic aesthetics and inspired by what were then new and provocative artistic movements in mid-century Italy, when the company was founded. This tension resulted in unique and extraordinary pieces at the manufacturer, from eccentric, glove-shaped armchairs to striking dining tables that feature a mix of materials and textures.

Italian designer Sergio Cammilli founded Poltronova in Tuscany in 1957. That same year, it won the Compasso d’Oro for the Panchetto chair designed by Luciano Nustrini. Revolutionary Italian architect Ettore Sottsass — a maestro of postmodern design who would later establish the Memphis Group — came on board as an art director in 1958. Poltronova manufactured many of his furniture and ceramic designs. Sottsass’s lighting, seating and other works for Poltronova showcase the designer’s bold experimentation with solid wood, glass, metal and laminate materials.

Other established names in Italian furniture design collaborated with Poltronova’s Sottsass and Cammilli, including Giovanni Michelucci, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti. However, the company truly set itself apart in its collaborations with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, groups that were part of an irreverent, avant-garde movement in art and design that took shape during the 1960s in Florence, Turin and Milan. Collectives associated with the movement — which would one day be called Italian Radical design — drew on Pop art and minimalism and explored working with unconventional materials to create colorful, quirky and uniquely shaped objects and furnishings. At the time, Poltronova also worked with up-and-coming names in the art world, like painter Max Ernst and sculptor Mario Ceroli.

Poltronova showcased its groundbreaking designs in many exhibitions, such as “La Casa Abitata,” which was held in Florence in 1965. At Milan's Eurodomus trade show in 1970, Poltronova debuted an entire bedroom collection designed by Sottsass — including his sensuous Ultrafragola mirror. The brand’s furnishings were included in a 1972 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art called "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," and in 1977, Poltronova again won the Compasso d’Oro for a book called Fare Mobili con Poltronova (Making Furniture with Poltronova).

Poltronova's enduring and acclaimed furniture designs came to be loved far outside Italy. During the 1960s, importer Charles Stendig represented the company and helped introduce it to the American market.

In 2005, Poltronova established the Centro Studi Poltronova to recreate some of the company's iconic furniture. The brand has also recently collaborated with English architect Nigel Coates, who worked with a Poltronova master craftsman in Italy to design a series of limited-edition furniture in 2011, including the Domo chair.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Poltronova tables, seating, storage cabinets and more.

Italian designer Marco Zanuso helped cement his country’s place as a world leader in furniture design that used new materials in revolutionary ways.

Zanuso was part of a generation of furniture designers who encouraged a sharp departure from the traditionalism and classicalism that reigned over the design industry before the war. These designers, who are associated with what we now call mid-century modernism, experimented with new technologies and materials to deliver on the world’s newfound need for streamlined products that represented the future.

After graduating from the Polytechnic University of Milan in 1939 with a degree in architecture, Zanuso served in the Navy during World War II. Soon after the war, he opened his own design firm in Milan in 1945. He later became an editor at well-regarded design magazines Domus and Casabella.

Zanuso used this editorial platform to both promote new Italian designs as well as his own pieces, some of which he made using unconventional materials like foam and latex. For instance, his famous Lady armchair from 1951 is a composition of foam rubber and Nastro Cord, a recently invented textile band of rubberized fabric that eliminated the need for metal springs. It was one of several pieces he designed for Italian manufacturer Arflex, along with the 1949 Antropus chair and the 1951 Sleep-o-matic sofa.

Zanuso often collaborated with other like-minded creatives. From 1955 until 1957, he was Olivetti’s architect, designing factories across Brazil, and for nearly two decades, he collaborated with German designer Richard Sapper. The pair’s most famous product is the 4999 children’s chair, manufactured in the 1960s by Kartell in Italy. The stackable chair was the first to be manufactured entirely of injection-molded plastic.

Zanuso and Sapper also partnered on the 1962 Brionvega Doney 14, the first European-made portable transistor TV; its sleek, compact and curvy form deeply influenced the design of television sets that followed, which were far more sculptural in form than the rigid boxes that characterized early models.

From the 1970s onward, Zanuso taught architecture and industrial design at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He still exercised his creative talents, planning the headquarters for computer companies and renovating Italian theaters.

Each of Zanuso’s elegant works were demonstrative of a forward-looking sensibility. His projects saw an integration of novel industrial materials that not only helped emphasize the beauty of good design but also played a role in rendering these well-made products accessible to everyday consumers.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Marco Zanuso furniture, including armchairs, sofas, table lamps and other items.