Michele de Lucchi Oceanic Memphis Milano Postmodern
About the Item
- Creator:Memphis Group (Manufacturer),Michele de Lucchi (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 31.11 in (79 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 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: LU2163313345491
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.
- 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
- Kim Steel and Plywood Chair Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Original 1980sBy Michele de Lucchi, Memphis GroupLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoKim chair designed by Michele De Lucchi in 1987. Made of unique shaped black steel frame and bent plywood for back and seat. Memphis logo mark is on the back of the seat. This logo i...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Martine Bedin Super Yellow Memphis Milano PostmodernBy Martine BedinLocated in Shibuya-ku, TokyoFamous super lamp deigned by Martine Bedin. Six-light bulb along with its back. With wheel and movable. Yellow color model.Category
2010s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsStainless Steel
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Post Modern Memphis Milano, 1980s Oceanic Table Lamp by Michele de LucchiBy Memphis Group, Michele de LucchiLocated in Renens, CHAuthentic vintage Oceanic table lamp by Italian architect Michele de Lucchi for the Memphis movement in the early 1980s. De Lucchi was one of the co...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage 'Oceanic' Table Lamp by Michele de Lucchi made by Memphis MilanoBy Michele de LucchiLocated in LOS ANGELES, CAThis striking table lamp is a postmodernist work of art designed by Michele De Lucchi in 1981. It is made of tubular metal adorned with polychromatic paint that combines a black and ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Oceanic Table Lamp 'EU' 220 Volts, by Michele De Lucchi from Memphis, MilanoBy Michele de Lucchi, Memphis Milano, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the EU wired, oceanic table lamp made in metal and glass, designed in 1981, by Michele De Lucchi. US version 110v also available ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Oceanic Table Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Michele De Lucchi for Memphis Milano CollecBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Michele de LucchiLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the US wired (110v), Oceanic Table Lamp made in metal and glass, designed in 1981, by Michele De Lucchi. EU Version 220v availabl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Firmamento Milano Medium Equilibrio Table Lamp by Michele De LucchiBy Firmamento Milano, Michele de LucchiLocated in Milano, LombardiaPlease note that VAT is not included in the price. The only way to deceive gravity is balance” MDL Table lamp in two sizes distinguished by the opaline blown glass diffuser that see...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Firmamento Milano Small Equilibrio Table Lamp by Michele De LucchiBy Firmamento Milano, Michele de LucchiLocated in Milano, LombardiaPlease note that VAT is not included in the price. The only way to deceive gravity is balance” MDL Table lamp in two sizes distinguished by the opaline blown glass diffuser that see...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel