WILLY RIZZO for CIDUE, Extensible Coffee Table, Cocktail Bar, ca 1970

SOLD

Extendable rectangular coffee table including an internal Dry Bar compartment, by Willy Rizzo, CIDUE edition, Italy circa 1970.
Hollywood Regency Style, it consists of a gilded steel frame, brown laminate belt, two-part brown and gold speckled glass top, laminate and gilded steel base. The table opens (170cm) to reveal a stainless steel storage space, either for books, remote controls..., or Cocktail bar, bottles, glasses, shaker...
Original and period, it is in very good condition, with a slight and normal wear linked to its age and time.

Biography:
Italian designer and photographer Willy Rizzo (1928-2013) first came to prominence in the 1960s as a photographer, during the 1970s he developed a passion for interior design and launched a second successful career as a designer of luxury furniture. Born in Naples in 1928, in the 1940s he began his career as a journalist. His reputation continued to grow and it was not long before he was hired by France Dimanche to shoot portraits of the rich and famous at events such as the Cannes Film Festival. He photographed dozens of stars, including Brigitte Bardot, Maria Callas, Salvador Dalí, Marlene Dietrich, Jane Fonda, Gene Kelly, and Gregory Peck. He also befriended Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Jack Nicholson. In 1962, he captured some of Marilyn Monroe's last moments.
In Rome in 1968, he began his career as a designer, initially for personal use.... Willy Rizzo created a serie of unique pieces inspired by modernist icons such as Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. He gradually acquired an international reputation in the show business world and worked with a team of 150 collaborators, opening boutiques in France and throughout Europe, as well as in New York, Miami and Los Angeles....