The distinctive feature of the 110 chair is its armrest, a curved and elongated element that elegantly tapers off into the front legs, the result of masterful craftsmanship. Its precise and well-defined line outlines the silhouette of the chair’s side, transforming into a refined decorative detail that characterizes the entire structure. The aesthetic, marked by a strong sense of visual lightness, is paired with an essential rosewood frame, which supports a comfortable padded seat and backrest cushion, upholstered in soft and enveloping green velvet.
Bibliography: G. Gramigna, Repertory of Italian Design 1950–2000, p. 87, Allemandi, 2003; R. Lietti, Ico Parisi. Design. Catalogue Raisonné 1936–1960, p. 546, Silvana Editore, 2017.
A central yet independent figure in the landscape of Italian design in the second half of the twentieth century, Ico Parisi moved across architecture, art, and design with an erudite and radical vision, one that is difficult to categorize within the dominant movements of his time. Trained in Como, within a culturally vibrant context shaped by the legacy of Rationalism, Parisi developed from the outset a personal language that went beyond orthodox functionalism, opening up to a more plastic and experimental dimension. In 1948, together with his wife Luisa Aiani, he founded the studio La Ruota, an interdisciplinary research center where architecture, visual arts, and design engaged in continuous dialogue. During the 1950s and 1960s, he created furnishings and architectural projects that embodied a new idea of modernity: not merely a functional response, but a dynamic tension between structure and gesture. In Parisi’s work, furniture is never simply a functional element, but a sculptural presence in space—an instrument capable of generating relationships and perceptions. His works are distinguished by a taut and dynamic elegance, where the line becomes a sign and structure turns into expression. Today, his work is the subject of renewed critical and international collecting attention. His furniture, as well as his architecture, bear witness to an autonomous and coherent research path that successfully combined technical experimentation with a poetic vision.