“Bocca” Sofa by Studio 65 for Edra, Italy, 1999
About the Item
- Creator:
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 34.65 in (88 cm)Width: 80.71 in (205 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1999
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Amsterdam, NL
- Reference Number:
Bocca Sofa
First imagined as a statement piece for an upscale fitness center in Milan, the lip-shaped Bocca sofa — designed by Studio 65 architect Franco Audrito (b. 1943) in 1970 — has a delightfully dizzying history.
The piece was inspired by an erotic, ruby-red-colored life-size sculpture that surrealist artist Salvador Dalí crafted of pioneering performer and writer Mae West’s famously full lips. But the origins of Dalí’s provocative sculpture, commissioned in the 1930s by the artist’s British patron Edward James, lie in Dalí’s collage Mae West’s Face which May be Used as a Surrealist Apartment, a mixed-media work based on a portrait of West that the artist found in a magazine.
As part of the fitness center that Audrito was designing, the “lips sofa” he wanted to include would be part of a “Temple of Beauty,” and the architect initially called it “Marilyn” for Marilyn Monroe as well as for Marilyn Garosci, the facility’s owner. It was later renamed Bocca (“mouth” in Spanish) to pay homage to its Dalí roots.
The sofa was manufactured by Gufram, an Italian furniture company founded in 1966 that is renowned for its pursuit of bold, cutting-edge pieces that blur the line between art and design, function and form. Sensual and playful, the Bocca sofa embodies that creative quest.
Since 1970, the Bocca has been used as a prop in television, film and more, and is celebrated all over the world. It’s included in the permanent collections of a number of museums. Today, two versions of the sofa that differ slightly from one another with respect to materials are manufactured by Gufram (polyurethane and elastic fabric) and Heller (resin polymer plastic).
Studio 65
Every so often a company produces a design so iconic that it comes to symbolize its entire history. For Studio 65, the Italian avant-garde design collective cofounded by Franco Audrito, Piero Gatti and others, this was the Bocca sofa — alternatively known as the “lips sofa,” “red lip sofa,” “Dalí sofa” or Marilyn sofa.”
Studio 65’s lip-shaped seat — modeled after a singular feature from Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí’s portrait of Mae West — became a design icon shortly after its release in 1970 and remains a beloved collector’s item today. The Bocca symbolizes Studio 65’s playful, subversive approach to design. The collective took shape in Turin in 1965 with the goal of avant-garde experimentation. The group would eventually grow to comprise artists, designers and poets, including Roberta Garosci, Enzo Bertone, Paolo Morello and Paolo Rondelli. It would also play a central role in the Italian Radical design movement, the practitioners of which found inspiration in Pop art, minimalism and Arte Povera.
The Bocca sofa was born of one of Audrito’s earliest commissions — to design a gym in Milan — which he accepted just a year after graduating from architecture school. The collective enlisted Italian manufacturer Gufram, a firm at the forefront of Italian Radical design, to create a bold red sofa in the shape of plump lips; it was dubbed Marilyn after Ms. Monroe and was an instant sensation when installed at the fitness center.
Studio 65 would follow this with the also iconic Capitello side chair (another Gufram collaboration, now in the permanent collection at The Met), whose reimagining of a decapitated marble classical architectural column in squishy foam was an on-the-nose expression of the group’s pushback to traditional design. It’s a nod they iterated with the Attica coffee table, whose form appears sliced from an oversize column.
Though Studio 65 still operates as an architecture studio under the leadership of Audrito today, the original collective broke up in the late 1970s, making its output from the past decade sought-after fodder for collectors of postmodern, Radical and Italian design.
Find Studio 65 chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Wilnis, Netherlands
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Marco Zanuso Sofa for Arflex, Italy, 1950By Marco ZanusoLocated in Amsterdam, NLA stunning 3-seater sofa designed by Marco Zanuso, manufactured by Arflex in Italy around 1950. This eye-catching sofa is newly upholstered in grey fabric. The outwards tilted, tu...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Sleeping Sofa by Rob Parry for Gelderland, Netherlands 1960By Rob ParryLocated in Amsterdam, NLA luxurious sleeping sofa designed by Rob Parry, manufactured by Gelderland in the Netherlands around 1960. This eye-catching sofa has a beautiful steel base, warm brown wooden armr...Category
Vintage 1960s Dutch Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- “Amanta” Sectional Sofa by Mario Bellini for C&B Italia, 1960By Mario Bellini, C&B ItaliaLocated in Amsterdam, NLAn outstanding 5 piece “Amanta” sectional sofa, designed by Mario Bellini and manufactured by C&B Italia around 1960. This rare and beautiful piece contains five elements that can b...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Plastic
- Spokeback Sofa by Børge Mogensen for Fritz Hansen, Denmark, 1963By Hans J. Wegner, Fritz HansenLocated in Amsterdam, NLBeautiful spokeback sofa designed by Børge Mogensen, manufactured by Fritz Hansen in Denmark, 1963. This piece is made of high quality beechwood and is newly upholstered in light grey kvadrat fabric. The sofa has a very "open" design, showing it's structure and the used techniques from every angle. The details are really impressive, so is the unique feature of one reclining side and the leather streps that keep that side in place. The spokeback sofa has a unique history: it was designed in 1945, but didn't fit the fashion of that time. It turned out that Wegner was a true visionair, because after the sofa did get produced in 1963, it would grow to be one of Wegner most populair designs. It was copied many times, this original piece is a very rare find. A beautiful piece of Scandinavian design history that would make a true eye-catcher in any modern or Scandinavian interior! It remains in very good, vintage condition with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving an amazing patina. In 1958, Børge Mogensen and his family travelled to Spain. For the hardworking designer, the trip became more than just a holiday. In Andalucia he fell in love with an old chair with a wide seat and broad armrests. Once back in Denmark, he created the Spanish chair. The chair he fell in love with is a traditional type of chair and is very common in areas influenced by ancient Islamic culture from Spain to northern India. Børge Mogensen modernised the design by removing the elaborate carvings, and thus he created his own version with his customary geometrical precision. Yet he retained the most important feature: the broad armrests that give the chair its distinctive character. The broad armrests also serve as a practical place to place a cup or a glass. By designing The Spanish chair Mogensen...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Fabric, Beech
- 1970s 3-Seater sofa by Kho Liang Ie for Artifort, NetherlandsBy Kho Liang IeLocated in Amsterdam, NLA nice 3-seater sofa designed by Kho Liang Ie and manufactured by Artifort in the Netherlands around 1970. This iconic piece has a bent white metal base. The seat, back and cushions...Category
Vintage 1970s Dutch Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- 1950s Sofa by Arnold Madsen & Henry Schubell for Bovenkamp, NetherlandsBy Aksel Bender Madsen, BovenkampLocated in Amsterdam, NLA stunning 3-seater sofa designed by Arnold Madsen & Henry Schubell and manufactured by Bovenkamp in the Netherlands, circa 1950. This is rare, elegant edition of this sofa. Upholst...Category
Vintage 1950s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Teak
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Studio 65, Gufram FurnitureLocated in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional ho...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65Located in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional ho...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Studio 65, Gufram FurnitureLocated in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional houses in the world, and in the important museums around the globe. We’re talking about Bocca, the famous red sofa shaped as giant lips. Getting their inspiration from the 1935 Portrait of Mae West by surreal artist Dalì, as well as from the hot red lips of Hollywood stars, Studio 65 architects achieved a masterpiece destined to become an object of cult. Pop DNA, a sensual and provocative soul, feminine and elegant aspect. Bocca is among the most sought-after, loved, and imitated products of home furniture. The 1970 original is exclusively by Gufram. Since 2008 Bocca comes in two new versions: Dark Lady e Pink Lady. The first - rebellious, all black and with an oversize piercing - is the transgressive interpretation, with a marked gothic inclination. Voluptuous and of great impact, Dark lady shows its rock spirit. The other version, Pink Lady, comes with a new lipstick of a more glamorous and fashionable colour - fuchsia - which makes it a settee that is even more the object of talk; the ideal setting for a spectacular glittery modernity. To celebrate its first 50 years of work in 2016, Gufram introduces a special limited series of only fifty Bocca sofas...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Studio 65, Gufram FurnitureLocated in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional ho...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65Located in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional ho...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool
- Customizable Gufram Bocca Sofa by Studio 65By Gufram Furniture, Studio 65Located in New York, NYBorn to satisfy the demand of a private customer, it’s been featured since then on dedicated - but not only - magazine covers, and it is still displayed in the most unconventional ho...Category
2010s Italian Sofas
MaterialsWool