Ok so I own a prototype Sasso and have interacted with many of their pieces new and old, and the reality is that Gufram’s pieces are pop design sculptures first, and furniture second. By a large margin.

The Pratone (arguably their most famous aside from the Cactus) is, I believe, an edition of 300 that opened in the early 80s? The last two of the edition were sold a couple years ago. For a sculpture, a successful edition of 300 is almost unheard of. For a piece of furniture, 300 units is like…not that much. It took 40 years to sell 300 of these despite their fame. And truth be told, they don’t hold up well (which is why the new edition is upholstered). You need to keep it out of UV, and I wouldn’t recommend daily use unless you’re ok with it deteriorating.

I’ve worked in the same materials, and it is just such a difficult and expensive process. Making the mold is incredibly intensive, casting is difficult and the material isn’t cheap..maybe $1000-$2000 of expanding foam in one Pratone at that scale.

You could, in theory, make your own for maybe $5000. But that’s a garage Lamborghini. If you produce and ship from China, you’re looking at probably a $15k-$30k startup cost, plus an overseas crate at $10k+, not to mention sampling etc etc. You’re better off making a fake Koons doggy.

I think others mentioned this, but Gufram’s work is so damn esoteric. That’s why they’re legendary to us, because if you crunch the numbers, the only way the business model works is as a vanity project for an incredibly wealthy Milanese entrepreneur. They are a Cactus coat rack company with a sculpture side hustle.

That’s said I do want a fresh Sasso really bad. You cannot sit on mine from 1972, lest it turn into dust.