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First Edition Superstudio 'Quaderna' console table or bench, 1970s

About the Item

A ''Quaderna'' console table or bench by the iconic radical Superstudio collective, Italy. This piece is a 1st edition, before Zanotta started manufacturing in larger volumes. This table is a more rare design, it is documented and depicted on the second and third picture in this presentation (see yellow arrow). In the 1970s, the radical Florentine collective imagined a world overtaken by a single, endless grid — a total design system called Supersurface, where architecture, objects, and even daily life dissolved into a rational, repeating pattern. To express this, they didn’t just draw — they staged. They placed this furniture in fields, among cows and people, creating images that felt alien and absurd. Why film a bench in the forest? Because that’s exactly what Superstudio would’ve done - placing logic into nature, to highlight the absurd contrast between human systems and the wild. The piece itself is pure clarity: a simple table covered in Superstudio’s iconic Misura pattern — 3 cm black squares on a white laminate surface. Homogeneous. Isotropic. A rationalist dream turned into furniture. In a neutral environment the piece looks calm and calculated… set againt a nature backdrop, it becomes something else - Surreal. Utopian. A quiet protest disguised as a bench. This piece is in very good condition, with minor signs of age. One can also use it to sit on, it is perfectly stable and sturdy. The surface is covered in black and white (Misura grid) laminate. A radical and iconic piece of design history which fits in perfectly with modern and postmodern design. Perfect eye catcher and conversation piece. Provenance: Private collection in Tuscany, Italy. Made by local carpenters for Superstudio before the collective started their collaboration with Zanotta. Some more background about Superstudio: The architectural collective Superstudio was founded in Florence in the late 1960's. Instead of actually building structures, they created “anti-architecture”: psychedelic renderings, collages and films depicting their dreams - and their nightmares. At museum exhibitions, the collective shared its mind-bending dystopic visions: large gridlike structures buildings overtaking cities, giant pyramids and flying silver pods invading the countryside. They also imagined the earth with no architecture at all, just “Supersurface,” a grid network that would replace objects and buildings - which people could access by simply plugging in. A radical idea at the time, but now it's turned out eerily prophetic. “Our idea for Supersurface was kind of a pre-vision of what became the Internet,” says Cristiano Toraldo di Francia, who co-founded Superstudio with Adolfo Natalini in 1966 (later joined by others)
  • Creator:
    Superstudio (Designer)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)Width: 35.44 in (90 cm)Depth: 17.72 in (45 cm)
  • Style:
    Post-Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Laminate,Wood
  • Place of Origin:
    Italy
  • Period:
    1970-1979
  • Date of Manufacture:
    c. 1972
  • Condition:
    Good, lightly used condition.
  • Seller Location:
    EVERDINGEN, NL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU8096245908722