Matteo Thun for Bieffeplast

Matteo Thun (Bolzano, 1952) for Bieffeplast.
Four-drawer chest, Italy, 1985.
White-lacquered metal, glass, and black handles.
Top with a recessed beveled glass panel.
Condition to be assessed.
Measurements: 80 x 100 x 65 cm.

A unique chest of drawers designed by Matteo Thun for Bieffeplast in 1985, belonging to a particularly significant period in his career, immediately following his involvement with the Memphis Group. The piece combines a rigorous geometric structure with a graphic treatment of the front: the four drawers are marked by a regular pattern of small rhomboidal punctures, offset by black handles of identical geometry. The model is documented with these same dimensions and characteristics as a 1985 design by Thun for Bieffeplast.

The composition, raised on a central pedestal, gives the main body a distinctive sense of suspension. The monochromatic white reinforces the abstraction of the form, while the black details and the beveled glass embedded in the top provide contrast and sophistication. The result is fully in line with the experimental spirit of 1980s Italian design, though with a formal restraint that foreshadows Thun’s later evolution toward a more essential design language.

Matteo Thun is one of the leading figures in Italian design that emerged from the postmodern renewal of the early 1980s. Trained at the Salzburg Academy under Oskar Kokoschka and Emilio Vedova and holding a degree in architecture from the University of Florence, he spent his early professional years working alongside Ettore Sottsass and was one of the founding members of Memphis in 1981, a collective that radically challenged the conventions of functionalism and transformed the international language of design. In 1984, he founded his own studio in Milan and has since been extensively active in architecture, interior design, and product design.