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Why is Ettore Sottsass famous?
1 Answer
Ettore Sottsass is famous for his work as an architect and an industrial designer, which spurred a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was the oldest member of the Memphis Group, a design collective formed in Milan in 1980. Having grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown corporatized modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s, the Memphis Group produced bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high status by building furniture with inexpensive materials, such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes like animal skins. Other than his Ultrafragola mirror (1970), Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981. They include the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. Shop a diverse assortment of Ettore Sotsass furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
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Shop for Ettore Sottsass Furniture on 1stDibs
Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Dining Set in Carrara Marble, Red & Black, 1986 Italy
By Knoll, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Grand Cayman, KY
Icon of the Memphis Milano Movement. A set of four Ettore Sottsass Mandarin chairs for Knoll. Black Alcantara upholstery. Arms in red lacquer. Additionally, a Carrara marble round pe...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
Materials
Metal, Steel
Pair of 1980s Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Side Chairs for Knoll
By Ettore Sottsass, Knoll
Located in Lafayette, IN
This awesome pair of of Manadarin side chairs is were designed by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, chairs feature curvaceous tubular steel arms finished in gloss black, matte-black straigh...
Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Side Chairs
Materials
Steel
Exposition "S'asseoir", 1974, Musée de Grenoble 12 Posters in DIN A2, De Sede
By De Sede, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Munster, NRW
Exposition "S'asseoir" - 1974, Musée de Grenoble
12 posters in DIN A2 (420 x 594 mm) as high-quality reprints on cardboard
Wonderful hand drawings of several design classics, wh...
Category
2010s French Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Materials
Paper
Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova 'Cometa' Floor Lamp in Perspex and Aluminum
By Poltronova, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, floor lamp, model 'Cometa' no. L026, acrylic, lacquered metal, chrome, Italy, design 1970
Funky and easy to love floor lamp designed by Ettore Sottsa...
Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Floor Lamps
Materials
Metal, Chrome
IVORY Pedestal and Side Table by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The ivory pedestal is (in my mind) the accompaniment to Sottsass' TARTAR Cubist-like sideboard --- a visual attempt to show each elevation/plain as though it were 3-D rather than a f...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Pedestals
Materials
Hardwood
Ultrafragola Mirror/Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy
By Poltronova, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Milan, Italy
This is Ultrafragola a nice mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova in the 1970.
It is a translucent white plastic frame of undulating outline, concealing pink internal flu...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Mirrors
Materials
Glass, Plastic