Ettore Sottsass Bruco Wall Lamp from the Mobili Grigi Series
View Similar Items
Ettore Sottsass Bruco Wall Lamp from the Mobili Grigi Series
About the Item
- Creator:
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1971
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU90801772202
Ettore Sottsass
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.
Poltronova
Poltronova is known for embracing the creativity that opposites can introduce to a space. Its radical modernist furniture and lighting fixtures are simultaneously grounded in classic aesthetics and inspired by what were then new and provocative artistic movements in mid-century Italy, when the company was founded. This tension resulted in unique and extraordinary pieces at the manufacturer, from eccentric, glove-shaped armchairs to striking dining tables that feature a mix of materials and textures.
Italian designer Sergio Cammilli founded Poltronova in Tuscany in 1957. That same year, it won the Compasso d’Oro for the Panchetto chair designed by Luciano Nustrini. Revolutionary Italian architect Ettore Sottsass — a maestro of postmodern design who would later establish the Memphis Group — came on board as an art director in 1958. Poltronova manufactured many of his furniture and ceramic designs. Sottsass’s lighting, seating and other works for Poltronova showcase the designer’s bold experimentation with solid wood, glass, metal and laminate materials.
Other established names in Italian furniture design collaborated with Poltronova’s Sottsass and Cammilli, including Giovanni Michelucci, Gae Aulenti and Angelo Mangiarotti. However, the company truly set itself apart in its collaborations with Superstudio and Archizoom Associati, groups that were part of an irreverent, avant-garde movement in art and design that took shape during the 1960s in Florence, Turin and Milan. Collectives associated with the movement — which would one day be called Italian Radical design — drew on Pop art and minimalism and explored working with unconventional materials to create colorful, quirky and uniquely shaped objects and furnishings. At the time, Poltronova also worked with up-and-coming names in the art world, like painter Max Ernst and sculptor Mario Ceroli.
Poltronova showcased its groundbreaking designs in many exhibitions, such as “La Casa Abitata,” which was held in Florence in 1965. At Milan's Eurodomus trade show in 1970, Poltronova debuted an entire bedroom collection designed by Sottsass — including his sensuous Ultrafragola mirror. The brand’s furnishings were included in a 1972 exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art called "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape," and in 1977, Poltronova again won the Compasso d’Oro for a book called Fare Mobili con Poltronova (Making Furniture with Poltronova).
Poltronova's enduring and acclaimed furniture designs came to be loved far outside Italy. During the 1960s, importer Charles Stendig represented the company and helped introduce it to the American market.
In 2005, Poltronova established the Centro Studi Poltronova to recreate some of the company's iconic furniture. The brand has also recently collaborated with English architect Nigel Coates, who worked with a Poltronova master craftsman in Italy to design a series of limited-edition furniture in 2011, including the Domo chair.
On 1stDibs, find vintage Poltronova tables, seating, storage cabinets and more.
- Ettore Sottsass for Design Centre/Poltronova ‘Bruco’ Wall LightsBy Ettore Sottsass, Poltronova, Design CentreLocated in Waalwijk, NLEttore Sottsass for Design Centre/Poltronova, ‘Bruco’ wall light from the Mobili Grigi series, chrome-plated brass, methacrylate (translucent Perspex), enameled aluminum, Italy, 1970...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
- 20th Century Ettore Sottsass Mirror Ultrafragola for PoltronovaBy Poltronova, Ettore SottsassLocated in Turin, TurinEttore Sottsass was a 20th-century Italian architect, noted for also designing furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home and office wares, as well as numerous buildings and interio...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsOpal
- Metal Ufo Wall or Ceiling Lamp from SölkenBy Sölken LeuchtenLocated in München, DEVery nice wall or ceiling lamp from the 1970s. Nice reduced design. Very high quality processing. Manufacturer: Soelken Condition: Very good vintage condition with slight ...Category
Vintage 1970s German Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal
$709 / item - Golden Ufo Wall or Ceiling Lamp from SölkenBy Sölken LeuchtenLocated in München, DEVery nice wall or ceiling lamp from the 1970s. Nice reduced design. Very high quality processing. Manufacturer: Soelken Condition: Good vintage condition with signs of wea...Category
Vintage 1970s German Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal
- Chromed Ufo Wall or Ceiling Lamp from SölkenBy Rolf Krüger, Sölken Leuchten, Cosack Leuchten, Staff Leuchten, Motoko IshiiLocated in München, DEVery nice wall or ceiling lamp from the 1970s. Nice reduced design. Very high quality processing. Manufacturer: Soelken Condition: Very good vintage condition with slight signs of...Category
Vintage 1970s German Space Age Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal
- Iron Ring Glass Wall or Ceiling Lamp from LimburgBy Doria Leuchten Germany, Helena Tynell, Glashütte Limburg, Hans-Agne Jakobsson, Staff LeuchtenLocated in München, DEExtraordinary wall lamp or ceiling lamp in an iron ring look from the 1960s. Fantastic design and high quality workmanship. The lamp impresses with its spectacular play of light. Ma...Category
Vintage 1960s German Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsMetal