The “Ambiguità” table designed by Massimo Vignelli and Lella Vignelli for Casigliani production in 1983 represents an emblematic example of their research into the relationship between geometric form, essentiality and function. Active between Italy and the United States, the Vignellis in fact developed a rigorous and immediately recognizable design language, based on the reduction of elements and proportional balance.
In the “Ambiguità” table, this vision emerges with particular clarity. The large rectangular marble top in fact appears suspended above a structure composed of deliberately different supports: on one side a cylindrical element, on the other a full vertical slab. However, the composition maintains a surprising visual stability, thanks to the precise balance of volumes and masses.
Moreover, the use of marble as the sole material for both the top and supports accentuates the architectural character of the work. The polished surfaces and the natural veining of the stone in fact introduce material variations that enrich the geometric severity of the design, avoiding any excessively cold or industrial effect.
On the other hand, the title itself, “Ambiguità”, seems to allude to the dialogue between balance and apparent instability, visual lightness and real weight. This design tension fully reflects the Vignellis’ poetics, always oriented towards a design capable of being both rational and elegant.
Overall, the table constitutes a significant example of Italian design of the 1980s, in which formal research, construction quality and architectural sensibility coexist in perfect coherence.
Description: Marble supports and top, H cm 73×235/250×90.
Publications: Massimo Vignelli, Designed by: Lella Vignelli – New York, 2013.
Hammer Price: € 4.536,00
Auction 35 – January 30th 2020 – Design and 20th Century Decorative Art
