{"id":85816,"date":"2018-11-01T14:23:27","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T13:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/egidimadeinitaly.com\/ecomsite\/tutto-ponti-gio-ponti-archi-designer\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T13:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T12:14:10","slug":"gio-ponti-archi-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/egidimadeinitaly.com\/en\/gio-ponti-archi-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"Gio Ponti Archi-Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Archi-Designer
Sabrina Visiting
Gio Ponti Exhibition<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good morning everyone.<\/p>\n

Today we are going to be visiting a beautiful and remarkable exhibition: “Tutto Ponti. Gio Ponti Archi-Designer<\/em>,” at the Mus\u00e9e des Arts D\u00e9coratifs<\/strong> in Rue de Rivoli in Paris.<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Wonderfull Exhibition in Paris
Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here the Italian genius is expressed at its best.<\/p>\n

Gio Ponti can certainly be counted among the purest heirs of the great Italian artists of the past who have made Italy the heart of European culture.<\/p>\n

Today, in this era of standardization, of downward equalization, everything is questioned in the name of a presumed ‘freedom’, a word that, as we know, taken alone does not mean anything.<\/p>\n

\"
Enrico and Gaetano dal Monte with Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And indeed, today it seems easy to answer the famous question asked by Paul Val\u00e9ry.<\/p>\n

\"
Furniture with
Leggerissima Chair
Gio Ponti Icon<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Will Europe become what it is in reality – that is, a little promontory of the continent of Asia?<\/em> Or will it remain what it seems – that is, the elect portion of the terrestrial globe, the pearl of the world, the brain of a vast body?”<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Gio Ponti
Benches from Palazzo Contini Bonaccossi<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As to Ponti, he has certainly contributed to making Europe “the pearl of the world”.\u00a0 He is known primarily as a great architect, but this exhibition also tells us a lot about his eclecticism.<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Il Labirinto by
Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From furniture designer to porcelain maker, his genius always shines through. A true genius based on apparent simplicity and veiled modesty.<\/p>\n

The extremely beautiful painting “Racconto Immaginario<\/em>“, a demonstration of his Renaissance-like talent unfolded at 360 degrees was a real surprise for me.<\/p>\n

\"
Imaginary Tale
Gio Ponti Painting<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The caption of this painting reads: “Displayed in the dining room of the second class of the liner Conte Biancamano<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

At this point I told myself: if this masterpiece decorated a second class hall, what could possibly adorn the first class of this fantastic cruise ship?<\/p>\n

\"
Design Top Furniture
Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, I did a quick search on the Internet and I found a video of the \u00a0Conte Biancamano cruise ship.<\/p>\n

In the first class, in the background you can see a painting that was several square meters in size.
\nThe author? Mario Sironi<\/b>, a great Italian artist of the first half of the twentieth century.<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Gio Ponti
Top Italian Designer<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seeing the furnishings of the great ocean liners of the ’50s and’ 60s is always overwhelming- The most talented architects and artists were called upon to comfort a journey that could last even several months.<\/p>\n

\"
Paolo de Poli and
Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But going back to our genius, Gio Ponti, I think that his biography and his experience as an artist contain all the elements that make him a symbol of our post-war Italy.
\nOur society totally identified itself with the Pirellone<\/em> (Pirelli building), the beating heart of Milan – Italy\u2019s economic capital.
\nIts birth and growth was a perfect metaphor of our Country\u2019s re-birth and growth.<\/p>\n

\"
Furniture with
Leggerissima Chair
Gio Ponti Icon<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Devastated by the war in both spirit and resources, Italy embarked on a material and human reconstruction endeavour that was to profoundly transform it.<\/p>\n

Seeing the videos of the exhibition, one is struck by the good manners, modesty, and bourgeois politeness that emerge and that are perfectly embodied by Ponti and his Milan.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Gio Ponti Top Italian Design<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only a few years later, the 1968 revolts were to point to that bourgeoisie as public enemy number one, as the absolute evil to be demolished.<\/p>\n

And they succeeded perfectly in their intent. But what did they create in its place?<\/p>\n

While waiting for an answer, I would like to conclude with a personal notation. At one point a caption reads “From hotel Parco dei Principi Roma”<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Italian Design Furniture by Gio Ponti<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, whoever has been working in this field in Rome for a long time, will remember the famous exhibitions that used to take place in the Pinciano district in the 90s. The venue was precisely the Parco dei Principi Hotel<\/b> which hosted high level exhibitions during the weekends.
\nThe items on display were mostly objects and small pieces of furniture (also because the entrance was narrow and there were several very steep steps). Well, I was totally indifferent to the same items that are now on display in this beautiful exhibition in Paris.<\/p>\n

\"
Gio Ponti
Furniture from Hotel Parco dei Principi Rome<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But not everyone was like me.
\nHere I would like to pay tribute to the memory of a true master of our profession, Giorgio Profili, who in the early 90s in one of the editions of the Mercanteinfiera of Parma<\/b> presented a piece of furniture from the Parco dei Principi Hotel in Rome.<\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Gio Ponti
Hotel Parco dei Principi Furniture Rome<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a fantastic double door, of which I remember the magnificent contrast between the cardinal red and the golden brass decorations.<\/p>\n

A true “Magister Elegantiarum”<\/b>, he was always ahead of the times as evidenced by his fantastic collections; from the Lenci ceramics to the rare Futurist painter Bragaglia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Archi-Designer
Giorgio Profili Architect Smoking in the \u201870s<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His gallery was within walking distance from Piazza Istria but in photo dating back to the ’70s, he is portrayed with some colleagues in the legendary Palazzo Brizzolari of Arezzo <\/b>that I speak about in the Amarcord column.<\/p>\n

These outstanding Italians have contributed, each in his own way, to making us live in the ‘pearl of the world’, and it will certainly not be their fault if one day we become a little promontory of the Asian continent.<\/p>\n

Tutto Ponti. Gio Ponti Archi-Designer<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Museum<\/em>\u00a0of\u00a0Decorative Arts<\/em>
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris<\/strong><\/h4>\n

from 19\u00a0<\/span>October 2018 extended till May 5, 2019<\/span><\/h4>\n