Design: Vignelli exhibition, Rochester, NY. Furniture Design

View of the "Design: Vignelli" exhibition, Benetton Galleries, Vignelli Center for Design Studies, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, United States. The "Design: Vignelli" exhibition opened in 2010 at the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, which is also home to their entire professional archives. The exhibition mirrors the "Design: Vignelli" exhibition which toured nine countries between 1989-1993. As with the previous iteration, Lella Vignelli and Massimo Vignelli designed the displays, wrote the descriptive text, and curated the artifacts for the exhibition. It is the last exhibition designed by the Vignellis that is still open to the public. Pictured: Poltronova Saratoga chair (1964)

Text from the design: Vignelli exhibition label:
Saratoga Furniture Line; Poltronova, Italy 1964.
This was the first line of lacquered furniture on the market, and it established the “gloss” look of the 1960s. The intent was to design a furniture series that would look built-in. The hard edges of the containing shapes, in black or white lacquer, contrast with the softness of the pillows in warm tan or black leather. Again, the contradictions and ambiguities of hard and soft, of glossy and matte surfaces were explored.