Product details

Seller's Notes:This exquisite modernist WILLY RIZZO coated aluminum coffee table is a real beauty. Featuring split doughnut form with high and low halves with well center. Not marked. Measures approx. 12.5" H x 34" W x 34" D. The original idea for this round table came to Mr Rizzo when designing a table for one of his friends - named Cassini - apartment, in which one room was circular. Adding exclusivity to your décor, this gorgeous table offers a striking yet elegant look wherever placed. It is unique in its structural integrity and its perfect functionality, exhibiting blending of creative style balanced with careful proportion and scale. Conversation is sure to flow easily with this stunning presentation piece that will become a beloved focal point in any room. This luxurious table is suitable for any environment, from lounges and waiting areas to private homes. This incredible piece has a versatile use and will make a fine cocktail, coffee, magazine or sofa table - perfect as a centre piece and sufficiently strong for the rigors of daily life. The one-of-a-kind structure and outstanding detail combine to create an exceptional piece of high-design, a timeless treasure of household elegance, one that tends to receive comments and compliments as long as you own it. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make this beautiful table yours today! *****Treasure Island Interiors***** Willy Rizzo is one of the most influential photographers of the 1960's. His reputation rests on his catalogue of photographs of Hollywood and fashion icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Gene Kelly, Yves Saint-Laurent, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Pierre Cardin. He soon became a regular photographer for such esteemed titles as Vogue, Harpers and Paris Match, for which he took over 140 covers. Having reached a pinnacle in the world of photography, Rizzo felt inspired to create furniture. In 1967 - after a move back to Rome and a need to fill his new apartment with furniture - he started designing his own stuff, much as a reaction to Scandinavian furniture which he found uncomfortable and too simplistic. When his designs became so highly appreciated by his friends demand soon spread among influential contacts in the fashion and media industries, and the success soon became a fact. Fittingly, Rizzo’s first commission came from Ghighi Cassini, the American Hearst newspaper columnist and socialite who coined the term "jet set" to describe the socialites and socialite lifestyle that Fellini immortalised in La Dolce Vita. Willy’s work for Cassini effortlessly blended neoclassicism with modern styles and its success brought a swathe of Italian high-society to him. Willy Rizzo was uniquely placed as a designer for the Dolce Vita, being himself a part of the world for which he was designing. Infamous playboys, such as Rodolfo Parisi, Gigli Rizzi and Franco Rapetti, were some of his earliest clients. Salvador Dalí commissioned a number of pieces, as did Brigitte Bardot for the interior of La Madrague in St. Tropez. Being a consummate playboy of the era, Rizzo’s client list is testament to how close his furniture was to the mark. By 1968, Willy’s work was in constant demand, leading to the setting up of his own firm and the establishment of a factory just outside Rome at Tivoli, which employed over 150 staff, including the original team from his early apartment transformation. He opened boutiques across France and Europe and had points of sale in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. However, in 1978, Rizzo gave it all up to return to photography, his first love. He claimed that he missed his bohemian photographer lifestyle. Willy Rizzo's furniture design channelled the sophistication of Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, his pieces combining clean, simple lines with bold geometric forms and a delicate handling of materials. His lack of formal training in furniture design placed him outside Italy’s strong, indigenous design traditions, making his style utterly unique at the time. While Rizzo bought into the modernist principles of functionality and simplified forms, he deliberately avoided mass production, modern materials and industrial design, despite designers such as Giò Ponti endorsing the movement. Rizzo remained focused on a doctrine of traditional materials and craftsmanship, a response to the contemporary cultural environment, as opposed to current design trends. His designs always remained faithful to the traditional use of high-quality, natural materials, turning its backs to the system of mass-production and plastic that was in the air. “It was never about recreating classic styles in modern furniture, that wasn’t the point. It was about creating something new for a traditional setting,” Rizzo explains. Willy Rizzo's furniture is now widely exhibited, notably in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. ****Treasure Island Interiors**** Offered in very good vintage condition; minor signs of use consistent with the normal, residential employment it has seen. Lifting to one edge, some minor edge wear and dings, a deeper scratch on top. Please view the images provided to confirm the condition and outstanding appearance of the table, as they are part of the description. Comes from a clean, non-smoking, pet-free home. This is a great opportunity to purchase this wonderful piece at a fraction of its original cost, and we have no doubt it will serve and delight its new owner for many years to come.

Brand: Milo Baughman