Afra Scarpa & Tobia Scarpa

AFRA SCARPA (Montebelluna, 1937 - Treviso, 2011) & TOBIA SCARPA (Venice, 1935)
Writing table, 1970s.
Rosewood and walnut root.
It presents slight losses on the veneer.
Measurements: 73 x 209 x 95 cm.
Desk table designed by Afra Scarpa and Tobia Scarpa in the 1970s. Trained in the intellectual environment of Venice, and linked to a tradition that has its roots in the work of Carlo Scarpa, both designers developed their own language that combines constructive rigor and tactile sensitivity.
The piece evidences these principles through a composition of great structural clarity: the lateral supports, conceived as continuous planes, delimit a volume that privileges visual stability and formal forcefulness. However, this apparent solidity is qualified by the richness of the surfaces, where the use of wood with pronounced grain introduces an organic and almost pictorial dimension. This resource, characteristic of certain aspects of Italian design in the seventies, allows the material itself to become the protagonist. In stylistic terms, the table can be read as a synthesis between the heritage of Italian Rationalism and a warmer, more materially expressive sensibility.
The couple Tobia and Afra Scarpa opened their studio in 1960. Among their clients were Gavina, B&B Italia, Cassina and Meritalia. They received important awards, such as the Compasso d'Oro in 1969 and the International Forum Design in 1992. Their designs can be found in international museums such as MOMA, the National Museum of Design in New York, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Louvre Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other institutions.