70s Gastone Rinaldi dining chairs for RIMA Set/6

Gastone Rinaldi was born in 1920 in Padua, Italy. His father, Mario Rinaldi, was the founder of the metal furniture manufacturer RIMA. Established in 1916, Rinaldi and his brother Giorgio eventually gained control of the company in 1948. In the postwar era, under Rinaldi’s leadership, RIMA quickly became a leading brand for Italian homes. In 1956, RIMA began producing sofas with metal structures that featured fold-down mechanisms. The most well-known example is the avant-garde Saturno Sofa (c. 1958), which is part of the permanent collection at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. In 1974, due to strife within the company, Rinaldi left RIMA and established Thema in Limena. Both the tubular steel cantilevered Arianna Armchair (1978-9) and the Dafne Chair (1978) received nominations for Compasso d’Oros in 1981. Thema closed in 1989. Over the course of his career, Rinaldi collaborated with many renowned Italian designers, including Ico Parisi, Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanusso. Rinaldi’s designs won lots of design awards. In addition to being a talented designer, Rinaldi also played soccer for AC Padua, Cremonese, and AC Udinese in the 1940s, and he was an amature racecar driver, participating in Italy’s legendary Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile race). Rinaldi passed away in Padua in 2006. Although he is not as widely-known as many of his contemporaries, Rinaldi’s designs—many of which were produced in limited quantities—are coveted today by high-end collectors.

This chromed metal framed dining chairs have a cantilever frame and black padded seats. There are minor differences in the cushions and two chairs are probably from later years. Set is in good condition consistent with age and use.