Gio Ponti’s Creations Alive and Anew With Never-been-seen Objects

Newness is still possible from Italian design legend Gio Ponti, even 46 years after his death.

In November, Molteni&C presented its first collection of objects designed by Ponti which included eight select pieces from the archive. Ponti designed with such passion and frequency, he filled his creative wealth with over 250 design objects, some of which have never been seen by the public.

Ponti’s grandson Salvatore Licitra, a contemporary art photographer and curator of the Gio Ponti Archives, describes these pieces — which range from a sculpted hand to a seven-tubed vase as “beautiful and impossible objects, suitable only for flights of fancy — an invitation to live and to enjoy beauty.”

His creativity and the effect he had on a generation of designers fueled a distinct chapter of Italian midcentury modern design. Over his 60-year career, Ponti designed buildings, homes, furnishings and design objects that remain modern no matter what the era. In 2012 the Molteni Group, Gio Ponti’s heirs and the Gio Ponti Archive established a partnership to produce Gio Ponti Objects. That agreement was expanded in 2016 with exclusive worldwide rights to produce Ponti’s furniture — except for those already licensed to other manufacturers. Among Ponti’s most famous furniture pieces, Molteni&C produces Ponti’s famous D.859.1 table.

Molteni&C Gio Ponti Objects are available at select Molteni&C flagships worldwide and on Molteni&C’s website.