Hand Painted Faux Malachite Console / Desk, Alessandro, Baker, 1980's

This rare desk / console was designed by European designer and artist Alessandro Gambalogna, known simply as “Alessandro,” for Baker Furniture in the 1980s ~ and she is not your standard-issue example.

Most Alessandro pieces from this era are finished in hand-painted faux tesselated stone — elegant, yes — but this one? This one was executed in a custom hand-painted faux malachite finish. And not the timid kind. The rich, swirling, mineral drama kind. The Russian palace meets Miami lobby kind.

Each curve of the base is wrapped in that saturated emerald veining, giving the illusion of carved stone while maintaining the sculptural fluidity that defines Alessandro’s work. The exaggerated scrolling supports feel architectural yet playful, almost calligraphic in their gesture-- rising into a restrained, tailored rectangular top.

And let’s talk about that top.

The inset leather writing surface is finished with a clear lacquer overlay, preserving its integrity while adding subtle gloss and durability. It’s functional luxury... meaning yes, you can actually use this as a writing desk without clutching your pearls. It’s refined, intentional, and built for real life.

Place this in an entryway with a monumental mirror above and suddenly you live in a world where people arrive with orchids. Put it in a lobby and it quietly announces that your taste leans Italian-modern. Float it as a writing desk and you are absolutely the main character.

About Alessandro Gambalogna:

Alessandro Gambalogna is an Italian designer and artist whose work for Baker Furniture in the 1970s and 1980s blended European sculptural sensibility with American luxury manufacturing. His designs often incorporate bold silhouettes, hand painted finishes, and refined materials, bridging the glamour of postmodernism with classical architectural cues. Where some contemporaries leaned rigid, Alessandro embraced gesture and surface.

His work lives comfortably in conversation with Gabriella Crespi’s sensual opulence, the sculptural modernism of Karl Springer, the architectural restraint of Jean-Michel Frank, and even the confident polish of Milo Baughman~ but always with an unmistakably Italian flourish.

And yes the malachite.

Faux malachite, when done correctly, is theater. It’s tradition. It’s centuries of decorative arts distilled into a contemporary form. This custom execution elevates the piece beyond catalog production into something far more personal and rare.