Afra & Tobia Scarpa

Afra (2021–1937) and Tobia Scarpa (b. 1935) stand among the most seminal figures of 20th-century Italian design. Partners in life and practice, they developed a language rooted in architectural precision, craftsmanship, and human comfort. Graduates of the Università IUAV di Venezia, they worked across furniture, lighting, and architecture, collaborating with Cassina, B&B Italia, Flos, Knoll, and Molteni. Using wood, leather, steel, wool, and foam, they merged material warmth with industrial innovation. Iconic works such as the Soriana (1969), Bastiano (1960), Coronado (1966), and Papillon lamp (1973), embody their vision of proportion and tactile modernism. Their work is represented in the Louvre, MoMA, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.