Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.
ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.
Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini — a onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.
Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group, which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.
Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals.
After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.
On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.
$1,130 / item
Symétrical Bowl 02 Bis by Sophie Vaidie
Located in Geneve, CH
Symétrical Bowl 02 Bis by Sophie Vaidie One Of A Kind. Dimensions: D 43 x W 44 x H 23,5 cm. Materials: Brutal Beige stoneware with fine chamotte. In the beginning, there was a need...
Stoneware
Post-Modern Geometric Stoneware Bowl Object - Karl Fulle, Early 1990s
Located in Berlin, DE
A large hand-built stoneware bowl object by German ceramic artist Karl Fulle, dating from 1992 geometric phase and confirmed by the artist. The post-modern piece is constructed from...
Ceramic
$3,166 / item
Le Mani Bowl by Marcela Cure
Located in Geneve, CH
Le Mani bowl by Marcela Cure Dimensions: W 42 x D 42 x H 15 cm Materials: Resin and Stone Composite The latest addition to our CORPOREA Collection is the Le Mani bowl. Given its...
Stone
White Stoneware Roman Bowl by Elena Vasilantonaki
Located in Geneve, CH
White Stoneware Roman Bowl by Elena Vasilantonaki Unique Dimensions: ⌀ 28 x H 14 cm (Dimensions may vary) Materials: Stoneware Available finishes: ...
Stoneware
Alessi Girotondo Round Stainless Steel Tray Postmodern in Yellow
By Alessi
Located in San Diego, CA
Cut paper dolls motif created by design Duo Stefano Giovannoni and Guido Ventury early production. Beautiful color and condition
Stainless Steel
Unique Polished Oak Trough 8.5 cm Depth by Matt Kavanagh
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique Polished Oak Trough 8.5 cm Depth by Matt Kavanagh. Signed by Matt Kavanagh. One of a Kind. Dimensions: W 25 x D 8.5 x H 7.5 cm. Materials: Oak, scorch & oil, polish wax. ...
Hardwood, Oak
Lotuso Green Marble Decorative Bowl by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
Lotuso Green Marble Decorative Bowl by Simone & Marcel Dimensions: D 31 x W 31 x H 8 cm. Materials: Green marble. Different marble and ceramic options available. Custom options available on request. Please contact us. Our mission is to encourage people to make their home the best place to be, to get inspired and to receive friends and family. Designed and manufactured by ourselves, we offer lightings to help people creating distinctive living spaces. Enhancing the authenticity of natural and organic materials using associations and contrasts. Extreme quality behind a facade of ultra-minimalism. We find our materials to the source to ensure we give the best value...
Marble
Buon Appetito! Reppublica Italiana Tray in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme
Located in Geneve, CH
Buon Appetito! Reppublica Italiana Tray in Powder-Coated Aluminum by altreforme Dimensions: Ø 32,5 x H 1,5 cm. Materials: Powder-coated aluminum. Available in different graphics. Pl...
Aluminum, Other
$354 / item
Charcoal Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Charcoal Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Charcoal. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian artisans in 31...
Stone
Vintage Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Nut Leaf Shaped Dish With Ball Feet
Located in Doraville, GA
Vintage sterling silver bowl as a stylized leaf with a raised central ridge, topped with an open circular scroll stem and smaller leaves, raised on two circular feet. The leaf is mar...
Sterling Silver
$251 / item
DYKA Drinking Bowl by ZEMNA
Located in Geneve, CH
DYKA Drinking Bowl by ZEMNA Designed by Tetiana Krasutska. Dimensions: D 40 x W 40 x H 6 cm. Materials: Clay. Each object in the DYKA collection is unique because it is sculpted by...
Clay
Lotuso Black Marble Decorative Bowl by Simone & Marcel
Located in Geneve, CH
Lotuso Black Marble Decorative Bowl by Simone & Marcel Dimensions: D 31 x W 31 x H 8 cm. Materials: Black marble. Different marble and ceramic options available. Custom options available on request. Please contact us. Our mission is to encourage people to make their home the best place to be, to get inspired and to receive friends and family. Designed and manufactured by ourselves, we offer lightings to help people creating distinctive living spaces. Enhancing the authenticity of natural and organic materials using associations and contrasts. Extreme quality behind a facade of ultra-minimalism. We find our materials to the source to ensure we give the best value...
Marble
$1,256 / item
Symétrical Bowl 02 by Sophie Vaidie
Located in Geneve, CH
Symétrical Bowl 02 by Sophie Vaidie One Of A Kind. Dimensions: D 35 x W 38 x H 20 cm. Materials: Brutal Beige stoneware with fine chamotte. In the begi...
Stoneware
$685 / item
Ceramic Corimeu Bowl by Marioni
Located in Geneve, CH
Ceramic Corimeu Bowl by Marioni Dimensions: W 38 x D 23 x H 33 cm. Materials: Ceramic. Product code: 02274 Like a heart that is open to life, the bowl Corimeu is a very unique item...
Ceramic
Mida Tray in Amara Ebony Veneer, Horn & 24K Gold Plated Brass by Arcahorn
Located in Geneve, CH
Mida Tray in Amara Ebony Veneer, Horn & 24K Gold Plated Brass by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 40 x W 60 x H 5 cm. Materials: Horn, ebony veneer, and 24K gold-plated brass. Colours and sha...
Other, Gold Plate, Brass
$479 / item
DYKA Centerpiece Bowl by ZEMNA
Located in Geneve, CH
DYKA Centerpiece Bowl by ZEMNA Designed by Tetiana Krasutska. Dimensions: D 17 x W 25 x H 14 cm. Materials: Clay. Each object in the DYKA collection is unique because it is sculpte...
Clay
Dorothy Hafner Flash Grey Porcelain Nesting Bowls for Rosenthal, 1980s
Located in Berlin, DE
Matching pair of porcelain nesting bowls from Dorothy Hafner’s Flash series for Rosenthal Studio-Line, produced in Germany during the 1980s. Both ...
Porcelain
Regula Brenner-Nunlist LEGURA Postmodern Ceramic Bowl with Gold Lustre, c. 1990
Located in Berlin, DE
Swiss postmodern sculptural ceramic bowl by Regula Brenner-Nünlist, signed LEGURA, dating to circa 1990. Individually modelled curling projections in metallic gold lustre and glossy ...
Ceramic
Ward Bennett for Sasaki Japan - Crystal Vase Sengai's Picture of the Universe
By Ward Bennett
Located in St. Louis, MO
A post-modern Ward Bennett design for Sasaki Japan, Black leaded crystal vase with etched circle-triangle-square pattern with thick rim. The circle-triangle-square is Sengai's pictu...
Crystal
Unique London Plane Y-Bowl by Matt Kavanagh
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique London Plane Y-Bowl by Matt Kavanagh. Signed by Matt Kavanagh. One of a Kind. Dimensions: W 32 x D 31 x H 45 cm. Materials: London Plane, scorch & wax. Unique piece, hand...
Hardwood
Decorative Bowl in Solid Brass by STOFF Nagel
Located in Geneve, CH
Decorative Bowl in Solid Brass by STOFF Nagel Dimensions: Ø 13,8 x H 5,6 cm. Materials: Brass. Available in different finish options: brushed brass, brushed chrome, or black. Price...
Brass
$822 / item
Polypore Small Bowl by David Valner
Located in Geneve, CH
Polypore Small Bowl by David Valner Dimensions: D 22 x W 27 x H 13 cm. Materials: Hand-crafted glass. Weight: 2 kg. Finish: Small size, dark green and beige, and matte surface. In t...
Glass
$1,256 / item
Triple Bowl by Sophie Vaidie
Located in Geneve, CH
Triple Bowl by Sophie Vaidie One Of A Kind. Dimensions: D 27 x W 46 x H 17 cm. Materials: Brutal Beige stoneware with fine chamotte. In the beginning, there was a need to make, wit...
Stoneware
Unique London Plane Amphora by Matt Kavanagh
Located in Geneve, CH
Unique London Plane Amphora by Matt Kavanagh. Signed by Matt Kavanagh. One of a Kind. Dimensions: W 19 x D 16 x H 66.5 cm. Materials: London Plane, scorch & wax, chemical black. ...
Hardwood
Red Kosta Boda Bowl by Anna Ehrner
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A very colorful hand crafted blown glass bowl by Anna Ehrner for Kosta Soda. The bowl is small but has a great look and statement. - could be used for multiple purposes, including a...
Art Glass, Blown Glass
Murano glass drainer in shades of blue
Located in Autonomous City Buenos Aires, CABA
Murano Glass Sink in Blue Tones This Murano glass sink, crafted using the sommerso technique in the 1960s, features a vibrant gradation of blues that...
Art Glass
$205 / item
Impruneta Clay Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Impruneta Clay Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Impruneta Clay. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian ar...
Clay
Contempory Design, Organic Form Dark Grey Ceramic Bowl by Niclas Wolf
Located in Geneve, CH
Geoprimitive 112 Ceramic Bowl by Niclas Wolf Unique Piece. Dimensions: Ø 66,5 x H 24 cm. Materials: Ceramic. GEOPRIMITIVE_ is a design series that compares and connects the Precambr...
Ceramic
Postmodern yellow and pink Swedish Ps Series Tripod Bowl Ola Wihlborg Ikea
By IKEA
Located in Hamburg, DE
Vintage Postmodern Swedish Ps Series Tripod Bowl by Ola Wihlborg for Ikea
Metal
$3,369 / item
Artificial Formations Concrete Bowl by Davide Ronco
Located in Geneve, CH
Artificial Formations Concrete Bowl by Davide Ronco One of a Kind Dimensions: D 100 x H 50 cm. Materials: Concrete. Concrete, the most widely used material in the world after water...
Concrete
$331 / item
Turned Brass Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Turned Brass Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Turned Brass. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian artisa...
Brass
Set of 2 Postmodern Athena Bowl by M. Peppercorn & Sieger Design for Ritzenhoff
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Athena Bowl by M. Peppercorn & Sieger Design for Ritzenhoff, Set of 2, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1990 to 1999 This piece has an attribution mark. Additional infor...
Ceramic
$5,597 / item
Imperial M Decorative Object by Kreoo
Located in Geneve, CH
Imperial M Decorative Object by Kreoo Designed by Christophe Pillet Dimensions: Ø 50 x H 16 cm. Materials: Black and Gold marble. Available in different marble and travertine optio...
Marble
$182 / item
Beechwood Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Beechwood Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Beechwood. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian artisans in ...
Beech
Contemporary Silver Aluminium Agata Bowl by Henry Wilson
By Henry Wilson
Located in Geneve, CH
Agata Bowl by Henry Wilson Dimensions: D 25 x H 7.3 cm Materials: Aluminum. Influenced by Eastern aesthetics, particularly those of Japanese ceremonial bowls, Agata Bowl is an exerc...
Aluminum
$3,493 / item
Tazón Bajo Galeana Bowl by Jorge Diego Etienne
Located in Geneve, CH
Tazón Bajo Galeana bowl by Jorge Diego Etienne Limited Edition of 10 + 1 AP Dimensions: D 30 x W 30 x H 9 cm Material: alabaster Galeana is a collection of 6 objects designed b...
Alabaster
$331 / item
Turned Bronze Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Turned Bronze Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Turned Bronze. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian arti...
Bronze
$331 / item
Turned Copper Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio
Located in Geneve, CH
Turned Copper Diogenèa Bowl by ZPS Studio Dimensions: D 23 x H 4.8 cm Materials: Turned Copper. A number of 31 bowls of identical shape, made in limited edition by fine Italian arti...
Copper
Postmodern Glass Footed Art Centerpiece Bowl With Cobalt Swirl Applied
By Blenko Glass
Located in San Diego, CA
Postmodern Glass Footed Art Centerpiece Bowl With Cobalt Swirl Applied ,excellent condition.
Blown Glass
$342 / set
Set of 2 Luna Oak Trays by Applicata
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Luna Oak Trays by Applicata Dimensions: D 28 x W 28 x H 3.7 cm Materials: Smoked oak, black stained oak. Available in oak, smoked oak, and black stained oak finishes. Appl...
Oak
$342 / set
Set of 2 Luna Oak Trays by Applicata
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 Luna Oak Trays by Applicata Dimensions: D 28 x W 28 x H 3.7 cm Materials: Oak, black stained oak. Available in oak, smoked oak, and black stained oak finishes. Applicata’s...
Oak
$1,667 / item
Paper Darkened Brass Bowl III by Gentner Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Paper darkened brass bowl III by Gentner Design. Dimensions: D 50 x W 50 x H 25.5 cm. Materials: darkened brass. Available in tarnished brass and darkened brass. The Paper Series em...
Brass
$1,130 / item
Mirage Contenitore Basso by Studio Intervallo
Located in Geneve, CH
Mirage Contenitore Basso by Studio Intervallo Dimensions: D 30 x H 3.2 cm Materials: white Arabescato marble. Available in other stones. The Mirage collection comes from the mo...
Marble
$2,067 / item
Kastle Pink Small Bowl by Purho
Located in Geneve, CH
Kastle Pink small bowl by Purho Dimensions: D24 x W16 x H10cm Materials: Glass other colours and Dimensions are available. Purho is a new protagonist of made in Italy design , a w...
Glass
$902 / item
Kastle Violet Mini Bowl by Purho
Located in Geneve, CH
Kastle Violet Mini Bowl by Purho Dimensions: D15 x W11 x H6cm Materials: Glass Other colours and dimensions are available. Purho is a new protagonist of made in Italy design , ...
Glass
Rede Guzzini Italian Modernist Sculptural Lucite Centerpiece Bowl Tray
By Rede Guzzini
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Sculptural Italian modernist centerpiece by Rede Guzzini, handmade in Italy. This elongated translucent white Lucite serving tray features an organic, free-form recessed interior wit...
Lucite
Gilbert Portanier Postmodern Porcelain Bowl for Rosenthal, Germany, 1980s
By Gilbert Portanier, Rosenthal 3
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
A colourful postmodern porcelain bowl designed by the French ceramic artist Gilbert Portanier and produced by Rosenthal in Germany in the 1980s. With its deep blue ground, bold abstr...
Porcelain
Vintage Hand Blown Green Glass Centerpiece Bowl, Empoli, Italy, 1970s
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Empoli, Italy, 1970s. It is a high-quality centerpiece made in green hand blown and modeled glass. This is a vintage piece, therefore it might show slight traces of use, but...
Blown Glass
$52Sale Price / set|58% Off
Set of Postmodern Memphis Era Plates by Claudia Shuride for Toscany Collection
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful and rare set of plates designed by Claudia Shuride for The toscany Collection Japan, in Porcelain, finish no chips or cracks.
Ceramic
Canadian Ceramic Bowl by Sung Wook Park for Umbra
By Umbra
Located in San Diego, CA
Canadian Ceramic Bowl by Sung Wook Park for Umbra, a rare piece out of production nice white mate porcelain finish.
Ceramic
Postmodern Wooden Bowl by Pietro Manzoni, Memphis Style, Italy, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Multi-colored wooden bowl by Pietro Manzoni. This large bowl follows postmodern forms and colors. M Branding on the bottom. This piece has an attribution mark. Additional informatio...
Wood
Vintage Danish Art Glass Bowl from Greve Glaskunst, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Vintage Danish Art Glass Bowl from Greve Glaskunst, 1980s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989 This piece has an attribution mark. Additional information: Materials: Glas...
Glass
Italian 50's Decorative Ball By Ettore Sottsass For Rinnovel
Located in London, GB
This is the iconic "Mela" apple-shaped decorative object, designed in 1953 by Ettore Sottsass for Rinnovel, featuring a striking combination of a cobalt blue glass base and a polishe...
Chrome
Vintage Italian Lobster Pottery Bowl Sculpture, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Vintage Italian Lobster Pottery Bowl Sculpture, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989. Additional information: Materials: Ceramic Styles: Post-Modern Color: Green Country o...
Ceramic
$1,200 / set
Post Modern Glazed Ceramic Bowl
Located in Houston, TX
Post Modern Glazed Ceramic Bowl. Offered is a absolutely gorgeous Postmodern glazed ceramic decorative bowl in a variety of colors. This lovely bowl is the perfect cocktail table acc...
Ceramic
Contemporary Art Organic Form, Dark Grey Ceramic Bowl by Niclas Wolf
Located in Geneve, CH
Geoprimitive 122 Ceramic Bowl by Niclas Wolf Unique Piece. Dimensions: Ø 47 x H 35 cm. Materials: Ceramic. GEOPRIMITIVE_ is a design series that compares and connects the Precambria...
Ceramic
Postmodern Italian Voilà Voilà Metal Tablet Bowl by Philippe Starck, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Italian Voilà Voilà Metal Tablet Bowl by Philippe Starck for Alessi, 1980s, in Flawless conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989 This piece has an attribution mark. Additional i...
Metal
Large Postmodern Danish Metal Bowl from Menu, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Large Postmodern Danish Metal Bowl from Menu, 1980s, in Very Good conditions. Designed 1980 to 1989 have official proof of authenticity such as vintage catalogs, designer records, or...
Metal
Postmodern Large Art Glass Bowl from Johansfors, Sweden, 1980s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Postmodern Large Art Glass Bowl from Johansfors, Sweden, 1980s
Glass