The Dezza armchair, designed by Gio Ponti, turns 60, and to celebrate this milestone, Poltrona Frau has created a Limited Edition of 60 numbered pieces, transforming design into an artist’s canvas. At the heart of this exclusive reissue is a never-before-seen detail: Ponti’s unpublished sketches dedicated to the human hand, printed on Frau’s fine leather.
Gio Ponti’s Illustrations and the Human Hand
Among the countless marks Ponti left in the world of architecture and design, the hand is one of the most evocative. A symbol of craftsmanship, communication, and proportion, it is an essential tool for any designer. In the 1920s, Ponti created a ceramic sculpture for Richard Ginori, breaking traditional production patterns. But his hands didn’t stop there: he drew at least 26, each with a distinct identity, and now they dance across the surface of the Dezza Limited Edition.
On the armchair, illustrations of hands in all their expressions unfold: the gloved hand, the horned hand, the bourgeois hand, the closing hand, the pierced hand. A sequence of gestures and symbols that reflect the eclectic thinking of the designer, turning each piece into a visual story, a narrative that unfolds through the leather.
This limited edition is not only a tribute to the Dezza of 1965, but a celebration of Ponti’s art in a new and surprising form. The armchair thus becomes a moving work of art, a design that transforms into illustration and vice versa.
A limited number of pieces will be available for pre-order online, exclusively in certain European countries, until April 1. After this date, the Dezza Limited Edition will be available for purchase at a selection of Poltrona Frau stores worldwide.
