Franco Deboni, Fontana Arte: Gio Ponti, Pietro Chiesa, Max Ingrand, Turin, 2012, fig. 150
Catalogue Essay
Pietro Chiesa was the artistic director of Fontana Arte together with Gio Ponti until 1935, and then independently until his death in 1948. Chiesa is now known mainly for his lighting, and his furniture for Fontana Arte is prized for its relative rarity. In fact he began as a furniture designer and came to lighting design through Fontana Arte. His iconic furniture designs are his case pieces in coloured mirrored glass and his low tables with the most minimal of non-glass components. The tables in particular allowed Chiesa the opportunity to reveal his advanced understanding of the properties and possibilities of glass engineering. In response to the success of Chiesa’s furniture, Ponti said ‘Master, the professional, the mental man, with the work supervised and performed to perfection.’