Gufram on the Rocks – 50 Years of Design against the Tide

The exhibition explores the first 50 years of Gufram through its most symbolic projects, the ones that in recent years  have revived the legend of the brand and its mad and disruptive visions.

With a special set up, some of the most representative icons of the history of Gufram invade the gallery’s space: from the couch Bocca by Studio65 to Cactus designed by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello; from  Pratone by Giorgio Ceretti, Pietro Derossi and Riccardo Rosso, to  Sasso and Sedilsasso by Piero Gilardi; from Globe by  Studio Job to Magnolia by Marcel Wanders, and many others.

Two new projects will be presented for the first time at the exhibition in the gallery spaces.
“Poltona” by Alessandro Mendini is a totemic and symbolic settee, a domestic throne that is enlivened by the contrast between the lightness of polyurethane and faux marble finish. A single copy produced in the early ’80s and used for a historical cover of the magazine Casabella, it is now produced in a limited edition in “real-faux” CARRARA marble.
The artist Kris Rush, on the other hand, will present a brand new soft sculpture in “real-faux” rusty iron taken from his modular sculptures which have grown from a single block, according to the ironic game of the “true-false” that distinguishes Gufram creations.

From the late 60s, in a time when Italian society was going through a profound change, Gufram was at the center of a movement carried on by artists and architects that would later become the radical design as we recognize it today. Gufram is the first to use polyurethane in pieces of furniture.  Taking advantage of its strength and ductility to realize the most unusual and different shapes while maintaining softness, Gufram created a tactile and visual short-circuit unique in the design world.

The first creative who invented a new way of treating polyurethane by painting it with water repellent synthetic paint is the artist Piero Gilardi  who today reminds us that: “In the 70s working on “complete upholstery” meant that designers were limited by the problem of producing liners in very complex fabric which was often impossible to do. At Gufram the designer’s imagination was freed through the use of Guflac “.

Gilardi’s innovative insight in exploring the creative use of Guflac was at the base of the development of Gufram products. It transformed polyurethane to become not only the structure but also a key aesthetic component in all its projects.  Over the years, Guflac has been changed, improved, and updated, but it always remained a special natural varnish which can give polyurethane a leather-like surface through skillful craftsmanship, and create the wonderful dreams that are Gufram projects.