Santa Monica Ceiling Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Matteo Thun from Memphis Milano
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 5.91 in (15 cm)Diameter: 11.82 in (30 cm)
- Style:Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:2-3 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:La Morra, IT
- Reference Number:
Memphis Group
To many people, postmodern design is synonymous with the Memphis Group. This Italian collaborative created the most radical and attention-getting designs of the period, upending most of the accepted standards of how furniture should look.
The Memphis story begins in 1980, when Ettore Sottsass, then a beacon of Italian postmodernism, tapped a coterie of younger designers to develop a collection for the Milan Furniture Fair the next year, determined that all the new furniture they were then seeing was boring. Their mission: Boldly reject the stark minimalism of the 1970s and shatter the rules of form and function. (Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, designed in 1970, embodied many of what would become the collective’s postmodern ideals.)
The group decided to design, produce and market their own collection, one that wouldn’t be restricted by concerns like functionality and so-called good taste. Its debut, at Milan’s 1981 Salone del Mobile, drew thousands of viewers and caused a major stir in design circles.
So as a record of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile” played on repeat, they took their name from the song, devised their marketing strategy and plotted the postmodern look that would come to define the decade of excess — primary colors, blown-up proportions, playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art. A high-low mix of materials also helped define Memphis, as evidenced by Javier Mariscal’s pastel serving trays, which feature laminate veneer — a material previously used only in kitchens — as well as Shiro Kuramata’s Nara and Kyoto tables made from colored glass-infused terrazzo.
An image of Sottsass posing with his collaborators in a conversation pit shaped like a boxing ring appeared in magazines all over the world, and Karl Lagerfield furnished his Monte Carlo penthouse entirely in Memphis furniture. Meanwhile, members like Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Sottsass and his wife, journalist Barbara Radice, went on to enjoy fruitful careers.
Some people think of the Milan-based collective as the design equivalent to Patrick Nagel’s kitschy screenprints, but for others Memphis represents what made the early 1980s so great: freedom of expression, dizzying patterns and off-the-wall colors.
Eventually, the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990s minimalism, and Memphis fell out of fashion. Sottsass left the group in 1985, and by 1987, it had disbanded. Yet decades later, Memphis is back and can be traced to today’s most exciting designers.
“As someone who was born in the 1980s, Memphis at times feels like the grown-up, artsy version of the toys I used to play with,” says Shaun Kasperbauer, cofounder of the Brooklyn studio Souda. “It feels a little nostalgic, but at the same time it seems like an aesthetic that’s perfectly suited to an internet age — loud, colorful and utilizing forms that are graphic and often a little unexpected.”
Find a collection of vintage Memphis Group seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Memphis Milano
To many people, postmodern design is synonymous with the Memphis Group. This Italian collaborative created the most radical and attention-getting designs of the period, upending most of the accepted standards of how furniture should look. Today, the Memphis Milano brand, which is managed by Alberto Bianchi Albrici, still produces designs created by the group between 1981 and 1988.
The Memphis story begins in 1980, when Ettore Sottsass, then a beacon of Italian postmodernism, tapped a coterie of younger designers to develop a collection for the Milan Furniture Fair the next year, determined that all the new furniture they were then seeing was boring. Their mission: Boldly reject the stark minimalism of the 1970s and shatter the rules of form and function. (Sottsass’s Ultrafragola mirror, designed in 1970, embodied many of what would become the collective’s postmodern ideals.)
The group decided to design, produce and market their own collection, one that wouldn’t be restricted by concerns like functionality and so-called good taste. Its debut, at Milan’s 1981 Salone del Mobile, drew thousands of viewers and caused a major stir in design circles.
So as a record of Bob Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile” played on repeat, they took their name from the song, devised their marketing strategy and plotted the postmodern look that would come to define the decade of excess — primary colors, blown-up proportions, playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art. A high-low mix of materials also helped define Memphis, as evidenced by Javier Mariscal’s pastel serving trays, which feature laminate veneer — a material previously used only in kitchens — as well as Shiro Kuramata’s Nara and Kyoto tables made from colored glass-infused terrazzo.
An image of Sottsass posing with his collaborators in a conversation pit shaped like a boxing ring appeared in magazines all over the world, and Karl Lagerfield furnished his Monte Carlo penthouse entirely in Memphis furniture. Meanwhile, members like Andrea Branzi, Aldo Cibic, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Kuramata, Paola Navone, Peter Shire, George Sowden, Sottsass and his wife, journalist Barbara Radice, went on to enjoy fruitful careers.
Some people think of the Milan-based collective as the design equivalent to Patrick Nagel’s kitschy screenprints, but for others Memphis represents what made the early 1980s so great: freedom of expression, dizzying patterns and off-the-wall colors.
Eventually, the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990s minimalism, and Memphis fell out of fashion. Sottsass left the group in 1985, and by 1987, it had disbanded. Yet decades later, Memphis is back and can be traced to today’s most exciting designers.
“As someone who was born in the 1980s, Memphis at times feels like the grown-up, artsy version of the toys I used to play with,” says Shaun Kasperbauer, cofounder of the Brooklyn studio Souda. “It feels a little nostalgic, but at the same time it seems like an aesthetic that’s perfectly suited to an internet age — loud, colorful and utilizing forms that are graphic and often a little unexpected.”
Find a collection of Memphis Milano seating, tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: La Morra, Italy
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Santa Fe Porcelain Ceiling Lamp USA 110Volts, by Matteo Thun from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Fe Porcelain Ceiling Lamp with US wiring accessibility, designed in 1985 by Matteo Thun. The Lamp is made in porcel...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsPorcelain
- Santa Ana Ceramic Ceiling Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Matteo Thun from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Ana Ceramic ceiling lamp with US wiring accessibility, designed in 1983 by Matteo Thun. The lamp is numbered and does not include the bulb. Born 1952 ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCeramic
- Santa Monica Ceiling Lamp EU 220 Volts, by Matteo Thun for Memphis Milano Coll.By Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Monica Ceiling Lamp with EU wiring accessibility, designed in 1983 by Matteo Thun. The ceiling lamp-shade is in ceramic, and lamp's bulb is not included....Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCeramic
- Santa Ana Ceramic Ceiling Lamp EU 220 Volts, by Matteo Thun for Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Ana Ceramic Ceiling Lamp with EU wiring accessibility, designed in 1983 by Matteo Thun. The Lamp is numbered and does not include the bulb. Born 1952 in...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCeramic
- Santa Fe Porcelain Ceiling Lamp EU 220 Volts, by Matteo Thun for Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Fe Porcelain Ceiling Lamp with EU wiring accessibility, designed in 1985 by Matteo Thun. The Lamp is made in porcel...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsPorcelain
- Ashoka Metal Table Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano C.By Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the US wired, Ashoka Table Lamp in lacquered metal, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981 for Memphis Milano. Ettore Sottsass was born in Innsbruck in 1917. In 1939 he graduated in architecture at the Politecnico di Torino. One of the most influential and important figures of the last century. As an Architect and Designer, he has participated in all radical movements whether created from the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981 he founded the Memphis group, a group that has radically changed the scenario of Italian and world design. Honored with numerous international awards, was winner of the Golden Compass in 1959. He designed the first laptop "Valentina" by Olivetti. He died in 2007 at the age of 90 years. Memphis Milano is the great cultural phenomenon of the 1980s that revolutionized creative and commercial logics in design. Born from the idea of Ettore Sottsass and a group of young designers and architects, in Milan, coupled in the years by famous designers from the international scene, Memphis turned upside down all of the existing parameters on living. Ettore Sottsass as the backbone of the group, design gained a new concept and expression through new shapes, materials and patterns, expanding the creative limits of the industry. Memphis became a symbol of New Design. Its influence is still clear in various sectors of production and beyond. Additional Info: - Dimensions: W 29, D 5, H 35.5 inches - Lighting Info: 1 X 50 W, 12 V - 5 X 40W. (E14) - Materials: Lacquered metal. - Additional Lighting Info: Please note that this item is wired in 110 V for the standard US light socket. - Price includes additional US rewiring cost for accessibility with US outlets. - If you are interested in the EU version of this light, please refer to the dealers storefront for the (EU) wired light fixture...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Santa Monica Matteo Thun for Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoSanta Monica by Matteo Thun for Memphis Milano. Ceramic pendant lamp. Light is E26 or E27. Shade size is f 30/H 12 cm. cable 120cm.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsCeramic
- Pill Ceiling Lamp by Matteo ZorzenoniBy Matteo Zorzenoni, MM LampadariLocated in Milan, ITPart of a collection designed by Matteo Zorzenoni and aptly named for its curved Silhouette that resembles a pill, this elegant two-light ceiling lamp was crafted using centuries-old...Category
2010s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Moonlight Two-Light Black Ceiling Lamp by Matteo ZorzenoniBy Matteo Zorzenoni, MM LampadariLocated in Milan, ITPart of the Moonlight collection designed by Matteo Zorzenoni, this striking two-light ceiling lamp comprises a metal structure from which two met...Category
2010s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Moonlight Two-Light Brass Ceiling Lamp by Matteo ZorzenoniBy Matteo Zorzenoni, MM LampadariLocated in Milan, ITPart of the Moonlight collection, this two-light ceiling lamp poetically evokes the romantic ambiance of a moonlit landscape. Its Minimalist and g...Category
2010s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMagnets, Metal
- Clessidra Eight-Light Black Ceiling Lamp by Matteo ZorzenoniBy Matteo Zorzenoni, MM LampadariLocated in Milan, ITPart of the Clessidra collection, this modular composition of ceiling lamps is named after the Italian word for hourglass. The delicately rounded and symmetrical shapes of the four s...Category
2010s Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- Large SCONFINE Sfera Pendant by Matteo Thun for ZumtobelBy Matteo ThunLocated in Dronten, NLLarge pendant by Italian designer Matteo Thun for Zumtobel lightning. The spherical pendant luminaires provide an ideal lighting effect due to their partly transparent luminaire unit with reflective chrome coating and opal glass globe inside. Besides directly emitted light, light is reflected inside the luminaire unit, making it seem to float. Light defines the emotional impact of a room. That is exactly why so many public places such as hotel lobbies and restaurants and even residential living spaces combine functional lighting with a clear element of decorative light. The library photos...Category
Early 2000s Italian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsOpaline Glass, Acrylic