Gio Ponti

Versatile and tireless, over the course of a career spanning more than sixty years, Gio Ponti (1891–1979) redefined the spirit of Italian design, working across all fields of the applied arts: from residential architecture to interior design, from ceramics to glass, to furniture and beyond. His boundless creativity allowed him to explore and reinterpret the most diverse styles of the 20th century, from the Novecento movement to Rationalism, always in search of beauty in all its forms. As founder and editor of Domus magazine, he absorbed and disseminated international ideas and established the canons of the ‘Italian home’ – a space where all the arts meet and coexist in harmony – helping to export the ‘Made in Italy’ brand. Today, Ponti is celebrated not only for masterpieces such as the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan, Villa Planchard in Caracas and the Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento – emblems of modernity – but also for iconic furniture that continues to be reissued and to inspire new generations of designers around the world.