20th Century, Ettore Sottsass for Mirabili EAD Totem

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. He was a wild man of the Radical Design movement that swept Italy in the late 1960s and ’70s, rejecting rationalism and modernism in favor of ever-more outrageous imaginings in lighting and furniture such as mirrors, lamps, chairs and tables.

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. 

The Memphis Group 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 created innovative furnishings for the likes of Artemide, Knoll, Zanotta and Poltronova, where he reigned as artistic director for nearly two decades beginning in 1958. His 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 inspired and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.

Sottsass left the Memphis Group in 1985 in order to concentrate on the growth of Sottsass Associati, a design and architecture consultancy he cofounded in 1980. 

It was as an artist that 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.

Find Ettore Sottsass lighting, decorative objects and furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Known for its collaborations with some of the world’s most important artists, sculptors and designers, Italian furniture manufacturer Mirabili produces high-quality pieces that not only prioritize function but are also expressive objets d’art that are demonstrative of the company’s clear creative vision. 

Famed Italian entrepreneur Sergio Cammilli (1920–2001), founder of radical modernist furniture company Poltronova in 1956, came up with an idea to focus on creating a collection of “usable furniture art” designed by notable architects and artists. In 1986, Cammilli’s vision was realized when he established Mirabili. He once explained that the company was a consortium of “well-known artists and designers selected for their particular gifts and their poetic world, lending an innovative and sensitive contribution to the cultural image of the habitat as ‘Art of Living.’”

Over the past few decades, Mirabili has attracted high-profile designers to create an eclectic range of pieces. For instance, the headboard of Italian multidisciplinary artist Luigi Ontani’s Heliondimio bed comprises a colossal carved wooden sun that is finished with gold leaf and “meets the gaze” of the carved crescent moon sculpture that appears on the foot of the structure. Other distinguished pieces include the leaf-like Foglia chair by Fabrizio Corneli, the TOTEM Clair de Lune sculpture by Ettore Sottsass, Carla Tolomeo’s Black Half-Moon silk and velvet sofa and Marco Lodola’s “playing card” contemporary art wall sculptures.

In 2002, Formitalia Luxury Group acquired Mirabili (now known as Mirabili Arte d'Abitare).

Mirabili has regularly exhibited at numerous art shows and fairs throughout Italy and the rest of Europe. 

On 1stDibs, discover a range of vintage Mirabili decorative objects, wall decorations and seating.