Marco Zanuso for Arflex

MARCO ZANUSO (Milan, 1916–2001) for Arflex.
“Woodline” Sofa. Italy, 1962.
Curved wood and original cognac-colored leather upholstery.
In very good condition, with a patina on the original leather.
Measurements: 70 x 133 x 83 cm.
The Woodline sofa stands out for its bentwood frame, whose continuous lines and side arches define a light, enveloping silhouette. The combination of the warmth of the wood with the original cognac-colored leather upholstery creates a textural hallmark of mid-20th-century Italian design. Its construction reflects Zanuso’s search for new structural and ergonomic solutions, in which materials are not limited to fulfilling a practical function but rather determine the formal expression of the furniture.
The Woodline series is part of Marco Zanuso’s collaboration with Arflex, a firm founded in Milan in 1947 that played a decisive role in the renewal of Italian furniture through experimentation with new materials and manufacturing techniques. In contrast to the rigid forms of Rationalism, Zanuso explored a more organic aesthetic, drawing on the tradition of bentwood furniture, reinterpreted through industrial processes. The result is a piece that combines structural precision, comfort, and a distinct sculptural character.
An Italian architect and designer, Marco Zanuso designed the Olivetti complexes in São Paulo and Buenos Aires, in which he used spherical triangular modules covered by a concrete shell. As a designer, he created furniture such as the 1964 Fourline armchair, a series of children’s furniture in plastic and lacquered wood, and the Locarno and Mastro tables, as well as radio and television sets and a wide variety of industrial products. A professor at the Milan Polytechnic, he was appointed president of the Industrial Design Association in 1966. In 1994, he received the San Carlo Borromeo Award for his lifetime achievement.