Gio Ponti’s “Illuminated 'Positivo-negativo' wall-mounted cabinet with tower and king statuettes” will go under the hammer at Phillips’ upcoming auction, “Casa Di Fantasia” that will be held on March 21, 2019, in London. The present artwork will be featured in lot 301 at the auction, with a pre-auction estimate of £40,000 - £60,000. “There are two fundamental aspects to consider in the understanding of this work by Ponti: the use of space as an expression of theatrical versatility and the use of surfaces as an expression of 'illusiveness,’ considered by Ponti as an indispensable approach to architecture. In the plan for the Lucano apartment, we already find the fundamentals of what will be the programmatic approach of Ponti’s own apartment at via Dezza, Milan, designed in 1957,” stated the auction house. The present work of art is made of East Indian rosewood-veneered wood, painted wood, brass and glazed earthenware. The Cabinet was executed by Giordano Chiesa in Milan, Italy, while the statuettes were produced by Gabbianelli in Milan. Ponti’s “Illuminated 'Positivo-negativo' wall-mounted cabinet with tower and king statuettes” were created circa 1951, and were included in his Casa Lucano. Commenting on Ponti’s Casa Lucano, the auction house said, “As Ponti acknowledged in his ‘Domus’ article featuring the Lucano apartment, we must go back to 1950, the date that marks the beginning of the chapter of Ponti’s career ‘Passion for Fornasetti.’ This passion, like all passions, was short and very intense, resulting in many projects, including Casa Cremaschi, Casa Ceccato, Casa Licitra with a wardrobe, the casino of San Remo, the ocean liners Oceania, Conte Grande and Giulio Cesare, the Vembi Borroughs offices, and the Dulciora shop in Milan. In the early 1950s, Ponti found in the work of Piero Fornasetti the ideal instrument to achieve a systematic dematerialization of volumes and, returning to Casa Lucano, the creation of a theatrical ‘Casa di fantasia’ (fantasy house), as he titled it in his “Domus” article.” Phillips further added in their release, “The projects feature a unique and versatile space with a succession of ‘infilate ottiche’ (lines of vision) revealed through the various rooms. It is a sort of stage presenting the lives of its 'inhabitants' who animate it and complete its various functions. This reversal, that assigns inhabitants the role to determine the functional destiny of the spaces rather than constructing fixed spatial and functional structures, is a central theme of Ponti’s post-war work.” https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin
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