Beschreibung:

opaque glass and brass 113.5cm drop, 23.5cm wide (44 3/4in drop, 9 1/4in wide) Literature: Deboni, Franco, Fontana Arte: Gio Ponti Pietra Chiesa, Max Ingrand Umberto Allemandi & Co., Turin, 2012, fig. 15 for examples of this model in a shop window display of the Fontana Arte store in Milan, Carnival 1956. At the forefront of modernity in interior décor, the Milanese manufacturer Fontana Arte was founded in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Gio Ponti The very name Fontana Arte reflects the fundamental values of the company, their innovations being a balance between art and industry, as well as functionality and design: Fontana Arte elevates the domestic to the artistic, bringing art into the centre of the home. Since its creation, the company has received multiple awards, including the Compasso d’Oro for Creativity (1998) and the Wallpaper Design Award (2022), both signalling the establishment as an agent of ingenuity in design. Notably the production periods of the company’s artistic designers trace a stylistic outline through 20th century design, from modernism to post-modernism; the artistic directors include Gio Ponti Pietro Chiesa Max Ingrand and Gae Aulenti Today, the company is deemed one of the most influential Italian design firms, synthesising functionality and decorative interior design. Fontana’s ownership of the glass manufacturing company, Luigi Fontana & Compagni, led the material to become a central feature in the company’s design; thus, the relationship between glass and light pervades the pieces. Fontana Arte’s prowess in glass compositions extended to that of many stained-glass windows in both churches and cathedrals, such as the Duomo of Milan. Throughout the history of the company, glass has remained an integral part of the works, highlighted by name of the retrospective exhibition, House of Glass (2022), curated by Christian Larsen that retraces the company’s design.