Nicos Zographos

Nicos Zographos – Furniture design between the Bauhaus and Greek classical tradition

The Greek-American designer Nicos Zographos (1931–2023) was born in Athens and studied at the University of Iowa before working as a furniture designer at the renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in New York from 1957 to 1962. In 1964, he founded his own company, Zographos Designs Ltd., which specialised in high-quality furniture for residential and commercial spaces.

Throughout his life, Zographos remained true to the principles of classical modernism. His designs combine the clear formal language of the Bauhaus with subtle references to the proportions of ancient Greece. His work is characterised by minimalist constructions, precise geometries and uncompromising quality in both materials and craftsmanship. His furniture featured in numerous prestigious architectural projects and was used by architects such as Walter Gropius, Philip Johnson and Ieoh Ming Pei, amongst others.

One of Zographos’s best-known designs is the CH66 chair, created in 1966 and now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. As an ingeniously constructed double cantilever chair, it reduces the classic tubular steel frame to an almost weightless structure: a flowing, double curve connects the seat and backrest, giving the chair an exceptionally light appearance despite its clear geometry.

With the CH66, Zographos realised his vision of a functional, precise and timeless chair – a design that continues to reflect the aesthetics of Modernism to this day and, thanks to the reissue by Karakter x Cassina has been made available once again.

The CH66 double cantilever chair from the Karakter x Cassina collection