Design shouldn't be trendy. Good design should last over time, until it wears out.
As Italian architect Achille Castiglioni puts it, design is best seen as something timeless, free of temporal limitations. The three auctions organized by Incanto Casa d'Aste e Galleria travel across time, starting with the glorious 1940s, and taking us out to explore the creativity of leading Italian and international artists. The auctions start on February 22 at 4 pm with Classic Design '40-'50, involving 272 lots that feature splendid Italian and international design furniture, lighting, and objects from the 1940s to the 1950s.
Among these lots, six chairs stand out: made in carved oak and woven rope, they were designed around 1940 by Paolo Buffa, who used precious woods, which were often decorated with fine grooves by the Milanese architect and designer.
Comfortable in appearance and with an original line, the two armchairs and footrest by Erberto Carboni combine aluminium alloy, tubular and metal, brass and foam rubber. The model, called Delfino, is named after one of the most graceful sea animals, the dolphin, and is an exquisite example of organic movement, inspired by nature rather than mankind. Following the principle that 'new ways of living require new design solutions', Carboni's armchair features fin-like arms and a harmonious body, just like that of a dolphin.
The second auction, scheduled for February 23 at 4 pm, features almost 300 lots (300-599) of furniture, lighting, and objects of Italian and international design from the 1960s to the 1970s. In this rich selection, the artistic luminosity of Max Ingrand is unmissable, represented here by the floor lamp model 1692 in satin crystal, brass and transparent crystal. Made for Fontana Arte circa 1960, it is an example of the perfect marriage of glass, design and light.
Considered one of the forerunners of the golden age of Italian design, Gianfranco Frattini created the Armchair model 880 in rosewood and fabric for Cassina in 1963. Elegant and functional, this chair has a cosy and timeless appearance that combines lightness with sturdiness.
The wonderful trio of auctions will conclude on February 24 at 4 pm with New Design (lots 600-809). The furniture, lighting, and objects of Italian and international design offered here concern the period from the 1970s onwards, and represent a new way of conceiving design.
Red is the protagonist here: sensual, cheerful, cheeky. We find it first of all in the wonderful Bocca chair, made of foam and elastic fabric. The prototype of this armchair was made by Studio 65-Gufram for the Multipli line. This design piece embodies the freedom and transgression typical of the revolutionary 1970s.
International design and the '80s, with their characteristic exaggeration, narcissism, and amusement, are represented by the eclectic Peter Shire, who, with the Bel Air Armchair model in lacquered wood and fabric from around 1982, brings to the catalog all the irony and creative provocation that characterized the Memphis Group.
Any self-respecting design auction could not be without Ettore Sottsass' designs. We find here his dreamy-playful style in the Adesso Però bookcase unit, in red-stained plywood and glass. Made in 1992 for the Etichetta Design Gallery, it sums up in color and line all the flamboyant fervor of those years, when technology was beginning to shape society.
Incanto Casa d'Aste e Galleria's design auctions will commence on February 22 and end on February 24. In the meantime, you can already admire the lots available online.
Browse all lots from Incanto Casa d'Aste e Galleria on Barnebys