Ultrafragola Mirror by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy 1970
View Similar Items
Ultrafragola Mirror by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy 1970
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer),Poltronova (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 76.78 in (195 cm)Width: 39.38 in (100 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Piacenza, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1031631663112
Ultrafragola Mirror
Most mirrors are meant to be looked in, but some are meant to be looked at. The Ultrafragola mirror by Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) is a classic example of the latter: It is hard to look away from its soft neon glow and sensuous curves, which resemble flowing wavy hair.
As part of Sottsass’s “I Mobile Grigi” series for the third edition of the Eurodomus trade show, the Ultrafragola, which translates to “ultra strawberry” in Italian, was designed in 1970. It was a precursor to his best-known accomplishment: the 1981 founding of his design collective the Memphis Group (Milan, not Tennessee), which embraced Pop art and exhibited a flashy unorthodox sensibility. The Ultrafragola embodies many of Memphis’s postmodern ideals. With its cheap plastic shell — made of vacuum-formed opaline acrylic — this playful and flamboyant piece challenged modernist design’s clean lines and austere shapes at the time.
Despite the Memphis Group’s spirited start, with its members experimenting radically with furniture, jewelry and more, it had a short life span. In 1985, Sottsass refused to be defined by a single design movement, so he left the group, which formally dissolved two years later. However, Italy’s Poltronova still manufactures the Ultrafragola mirror today. And it’s seeing a revival thanks to its made-for-social-media aesthetic and growing favor among celebrities and contemporary interior designers. Indeed, the Memphis style is having a beautiful, bold, neon-colored comeback.
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.
- Ettore Sottsass Set of Two Planters for Poltronova, Italy, circa 1961By Ettore Sottsass, PoltronovaLocated in Piacenza, ItalyEttore Sottsass set of two stained wood planters for Poltronova, Italy, circa 1961 This rare set is composed by two brown large plant holder and is combined with another set compose...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Planters and Jardinieres
MaterialsSatinwood, Wood
- Midcentury Decorated Vase by Ettore Sottsass for Egizia, Italy, 1980By Egizia, Ettore SottsassLocated in Piacenza, ItalyGlass vase in orange shades with silver animals decoration. Beautiful piece made by Ettore Sottsass forEgizia. Italy, 1980 The vase has its original label.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsGlass
- Filicudi Dining Table by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta, Italy, 1990By Ettore SottsassLocated in Piacenza, ItalyStylish Filicudi dining table with wooden base and silkscreened melamine top designed by Ettore Sottsass for Zanotta Italy in 1992.Category
1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsLaminate, Wood
$8,350 Sale Price20% Off - Midcentury italian mirror attributed to ValabregaBy Vittorio ValabregaLocated in Piacenza, ItalyElegant wall mirror attributed to Vittorio Valabrega. Carved wood frame with original mirror. It comes from a private collection in Milano where Valabrega worked. It can match with h...Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length M...
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Midcentury Wall Mirror by Sergio Mazza Italy, 1970By Sergio MazzaLocated in Piacenza, ItalyWall mirror designed by Sergio Mazza with a round shape entirely in galvanized aluminum. Italian production of the 1970s.Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Mirrors
MaterialsChrome, Aluminum
- Midcentury Soriana sofas by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1970By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, CassinaLocated in Piacenza, ItalyMidcentury pair of Soriana two seater sofas designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, Italy 1970 Original tubular structure and fabric covers. Original design winner of the Compas...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsMetal
- Ultrafragola Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, Italy 1970sBy Ettore SottsassLocated in New York, NYOriginal 1st edition model of the Ultrafragola Mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova. Light up mirror with acrylic shell made of layered wa...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Acrylic
- Ettore Sottsass Ultrafragola Mirror for Poltronova SrlBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Brooklyn, NYUltrafragola mirror (from Mobile Grigi series of designs.) Ettore Sottsass (Italian.) Original design: 1970, production 2019 Opaline plastic, mirror, pink LED...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Acrylic
- Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the tubular lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,826 Sale Price / item30% Off - Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the neon tubes within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,826 Sale Price / item30% Off - Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,826 Sale Price / item30% Off - Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,826 Sale Price / item30% Off