Rare Giuseppe De Vivo Chair in Black Perforated Metal

Giuseppe De Vivo, dining chair, model ‘55136’, coated steel, iron, reupholstered in Pierre Frey Georges Vieux Rose fabric, Italy, design circa 1933, production 1950s.

This rare dining chair is designed in 1933 and produced in the 1950s by Italian designer Giuseppe De Vivo. Based in Milan, the company has been designing and producing modern luxury furnishings for private and public spaces since the 1930s. De Vivo was specialized in the creation of outdoor furniture pieces with solid, enduring constructions. Italian designer and architect Melchiorre Bega (1898-1976) selected these chairs for the patisserie ‘Motta’ located on Piazza del Duomo in Milan (1933). Angelo Motta opened the first Caffè Bar Motta in the Galleria Carlo Alberto in 1928. Both buildings were designed and furnished by Bega. His portfolio encompasses over 300 design projects in major cities in Italy and internationally. He has designed 40 retail stores, 8 hotels, and 41 public buildings in Milan and Bologna alone. Bega believed that shopping, visiting a bar or café was an aesthetic, self-affirming experience and not just a simple transactional activity. Bega's clients included prominent individuals and businesses in the fields of commerce and art of Milan and Bologna. He was responsible for designing various types of buildings for them, including stores, offices, commercial spaces, and private homes. Some notable examples include the Motta cafes and pastry shops noted before.

Bega preferred steel as a material because it holds emotional significance for him: “Steel is among the most suitable materials not only because it can address the main preoccupations of contemporary engineering – to create stronger and more daring structures – but because of its natural, inherent, fascinating elegance."
The chair is designed with balance and simplicity in mind. Its perforated steel sheets and two vertical openings on either side lend it a lightweight and airy appearance, making it well suited for outdoor use and ideal for warm weather. The versatility of the material enables the chairs to be used both indoors and outdoors, making them flexible and adaptable pieces of furniture. In addition, the chairs are stackable allowing the user to store the chairs without taking up much space. With regard to its fundamental form, material, and construction, it is clear why Bega selected these chairs for the Motta Patisserie in Milan.

Kindly note that this item is in good, used condition.

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