Santa Monica Matteo Thun for Memphis Milano
About the Item
- Creator:Memphis Group (Manufacturer),Matteo Thun (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 4.73 in (12 cm)Diameter: 11.82 in (30 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:2010s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Shibuya-ku, JP
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2163311564743
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Shibuya-ku, Japan
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Nefertiti Teapot Matteo Thun for Memphis-Milano Original, 1980sBy Memphis Group, Matteo ThunLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoVintage original 1980s Nefertiti tea pot. Red is vintage color which is no longer production now. There is signature on bottom. Designed by Matteo Thun for Memphis Milano.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Ceramics
MaterialsCeramic
- Piccadilly Table Lamp Gerard Tayler for Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Gerard TaylorLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoPiccadilly by Gerard Tayler for Memphis Milano. Light bulb is E14.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Ettore Sottsas Tahiti Memphis Milano PostmodernBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoEttore Sottsass's Tahiti lamp. Materpiece of 1980s design.Category
Vintage 1980s European Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Michele de Lucchi Oceanic Memphis Milano PostmodernBy Michele de Lucchi, Memphis GroupLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoMichele de Lucchi's oceanic lamp. Materpiece of 1980s design.Category
Vintage 1980s European Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Astimelusa Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoAstimelusa by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano vetri collection in 1986.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Glass
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Martine Bedin Super White Memphis Milano PostmodernBy Martine BedinLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoFamous super lamp designed by Martine Bedin. Six-light bulb along with its back. With wheel and movable. All white color model.Category
2010s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Santa Monica Ceiling Lamp EU 220 Volts, by Matteo Thun for Memphis Milano Coll.By Memphis Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated 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 Monica Ceiling Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Matteo Thun from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the Santa Monica Ceiling Lamp with US 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 Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated 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 Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated 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
- Santa Fe Porcelain Ceiling Lamp USA 110Volts, by Matteo Thun from Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated 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 Group, Matteo Thun, Memphis MilanoLocated 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