Italian studio Zanellato/Bortotto has designed the Clay armchair for Moroso, pairing a soft upholstered front with a backrest made from a hand-glazed ceramic panel.
Seen from the front, Clay reads as an enveloping upholstered armchair. From behind, it reveals a ceramic slab set into a textile frame like a small painting, its glaze catching the light.
The overlooked side of the chair
The back of a chair is often where structure, fixings and plain fabric are hidden. Zanellato/Bortotto chose to place the most precious element of the design there instead.
Each panel is handmade in Nove, a town in the Italian province of Vicenza with a ceramics tradition stretching back centuries. The designers said they wanted to restore an old connection between upholstered furniture and ceramics, rather than simply attach a tile to a seat.
Working with local workshop Botteganove, they developed a vitrified clay body mixed with grog. The addition gives the slab the dimensional stability and mechanical strength it needs to serve as part of a functioning chair.
Glaze as colour
Artisans glaze and spray-colour each panel by hand, building up pigment in layers that turn from dull powders into fluid colour during firing. Around 20 custom finishes are available, and no two panels are identical.
The glazes shift through amber, ochre, terracotta and caramel depending on the angle of view and the direction of light.
Built for sitting
Beneath the upholstery, the seat is built on a solid wood frame padded with polyurethane foam of varying densities. Covers in fabric or leather are removable. The chair rests on a minimal base in oak or walnut that lifts the seat slightly from the floor.
Clay debuted at Moroso’s showroom during Milan Design Week 2025. It continues the designers’ research into ceramics and upholstery that began with their Mangiafuoco collection for the brand.
Source: 77 Global Furnishings Media
