"I Sassi" ("The Rocks") Seating

Designer Piero Gilardi Italian
Manufacturer Gufram Italian
1967–68
Not on view
This seating group is unconventional in both its Surreal aesthetic ("soft" rocks) and its technical structure (unsupported polyurethane foam). Avoiding any associations with traditional furniture, Gilardi created an amusing and subversive design that is as much a work of art as a functional object.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "I Sassi" ("The Rocks") Seating
  • Designer: Piero Gilardi (Italian, 1942–2023)
  • Manufacturer: Gufram (Italian, founded 1952)
  • Date: 1967–68
  • Medium: Painted polyurethane foam
  • Dimensions: 1987.6.2a: 17 15/16 × 26 3/16 × 22 1/16 in., 12.5 lb. (45.5 × 66.5 × 56 cm, 5.7 kg)
    1987.6.2b: 6 1/2 × 13 3/8 in., 1.5 lb. (16.5 × 34 × 27 cm, 0.7 kg)
    1987.6.2c: 3 15/16 × 7 3/16 × 4 3/4 in., 0.3 lb. (10 × 18.3 × 12 cm, 0.1 kg)
  • Classification: Furniture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Theodore R. Gamble Jr. Gift, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Theodore Robert Gamble, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.6.2a-c
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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