Gio Ponti

(Italian, 1891–1979)

Gio Ponti was an Italian architect, artist, and designer, known for his role in erecting the Pirelli Tower (1956–1959) in Milan. He brought his modern aesthetic to buildings, interiors, and furnishings, as well as to domestic design, based on the belief that each piece of the structure work in harmony—similar to Le Corbusier’s holistic approach to modern living. “Industry is the style of the 20th century, its mode of creation,” Ponti once said. Born Giovanni Ponti on November 18, 1891 in Milan, Italy, his tastes evolved from the Neoclassicism toward Modernism over the course of his career. He studied architecture at Politecnico di Milano University, graduating in 1921. The founding editor of Domus magazine in 1928, Ponti used the publication to express his own beliefs on architecture and design. Later working within industrial design, the artist created iconic pieces of furniture such as the Distex (1953) armchair and the Superleggera (1957) chair. Ponti died on September 16, 1979 in Milan, Italy. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.