Ettore Sottsass Beverly
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Sideboards
Laminate, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sideboards
Wood, Plastic
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Cabinets
Maple
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Laminate, Wood
Early 2000s North American Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
Ceramic, Acrylic
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Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
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Oak
2010s Modern Tables
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2010s South African Minimalist Night Stands
Burl, Poplar
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Beds and Bed Frames
Metal
20th Century French Desks
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Beds and Bed Frames
Cotton, Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fiberglass
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Walnut
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Cabinets
Metal
Vintage 1960s Italian Cabinets
Plastic, Wood
20th Century Art Deco Beds and Bed Frames
Mahogany
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Cabinets
Brass
2010s Belgian Modern Sofas
Linen
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Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Steel
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Rosewood
Late 20th Century Italian Bookcases
Chrome, Steel
Vintage 1980s Italian Cabinets
Metal
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
Brass
Late 20th Century Italian Cabinets
Wood
Ettore Sottsass for sale on 1stDibs
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with 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 such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.