The Kandissi sofa was designed by Alessandro Mendini as part of his ‘Redesign’ series for Studio Alchimia. This series challenged the idea of originality by reconfiguring existing pieces or visual elements into new designs. Following this transformative approach, the ‘Kandissi’ sofa was created by Mendini as an interpretation of a Biedermeier sofa, decorated with brightly painted wooden shapes in irregular forms. The sofa was upholstered in bold patterned fabric, inspired by the abstract motifs of Wassily Kandinsky. The ‘Kandissi’ sofa was namely part of a trio that included a mirror and wall hanging, which was first exhibited as a complete ensemble at the ‘L'oggetto banale’ exhibition for the 1980.

This rare model from Mendini's oeuvre, the "Kandissi" sofa exists in less than ten pieces, six of which are in major museum collections, namely the Munich Die Neue Samlung Musuem, the Gent Museum, the Vitra Museum, the Groninger Museum, the Denver Museum and the Centre Pompidou.