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LOS ANGELES — A classic example of Italian anti-design led Billings‘s auction of Modern Art & Design on September 16. A reissue of the Pratone or Big Meadow seat — the winning entry in the 1970 Sintesis Idee 70 competition — raced away from its $5,000-$7,000 estimate to sell to an internet bidder via LiveAuctioneers at $27,500 ($35,750 with buyer’s premium).
The Pratone chaise was the brainchild of a trio of radical Turin architects — Pietro Derossi, Giorgio Ceretti, and Riccardo Rosso — who called it “an object for individual and group relaxation.” It was designed, with no shortage of Pop Art irony, like an outsized square of artificial lawn with 42 blades of grass made from coated soft polyurethane foam, then relatively new material. It measures 4ft 7in square and slightly more than 3ft high.
The Italian manufacturer Gufram did begin batch production of the Pratone in 1971, and the following year, it was shown at MOMA as part of the exhibition Italy: The New Domestic Landscape. However, most examples that appear at auction are either modern reissues or part of an edition of 200 pieces made by Gufram in 1986. Billings’ piece from the 1986 run was stamped with the manufacturer’s mark to side and the number 157/200 and had a provenance to the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles.
The sale also included a pair of teak, cane and fabric armchairs designed Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) for the Punjab University in Chandigarh.
In 1950, the Swiss artist, architect and designer had joined his cousin Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier) to create the new capital of Punjab. The Chandigarh project involved much of the necessary civic architecture — 14 different types of mass housing, plus furniture for some of the public buildings.
The Punjab University armchairs, which were made in France and India circa 1955, have become classics of mid-century design. This pair, with a provenance to the university and newer caning and cushions, were offered with an estimate of $12,000-15,000 and took $13,000 ($16,900 with buyer’s premium).
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1986 special edition example of the 1970 Pratone or Big Meadow seat by Gufram, $27,500 ($35,750 with buyer’s premium) at Billings.
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Circa-1955 pair of Pierre Jeanneret easy armchairs, $13,000 ($16,900 with buyer’s premium) at Billings.
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