Bel Air Armchair, by Peter Shire for Memphis Collection
About the Item
- Creator:Peter Shire (Designer),Memphis Group (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 49.22 in (125 cm)Width: 45.28 in (115 cm)Depth: 43.31 in (110 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Current Production)
- Estimated Production Time:15-16 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:La Morra, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4830137435272
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.
Memphis SRL
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: LA MORRA CN, Italy
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Brazil Side Table, by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Peter ShireLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Brazil side and console table in lacquered wood, was originally designed in 1981 by Peter Shire. Peter Shire is a Los Angeles artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park district o...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Big Sur Wooden Couch, by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Milano, Peter Shire, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Big Sur couch is made out of 100% wool, and the structure is in lacquered wood. The couch was originally designed in 1986 by Peter Shire for Memphis M...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Sofas
MaterialsWool, Wood
- Hollywood Steel Coffee Table, by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Peter ShireLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Hollywood laminated and lacquered steel coffee table, designed in 1983 by Peter Shire. Peter Shire is a Los Angeles artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park district of Los Angel...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Laurel Table Lamp (EU) 220 Volts, by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Group, Memphis Milano, Peter ShireLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Laurel Table light is wired with EU voltage accessibility, and originally designed in 1985 by Peter Shire. The light fixture is in sheet steel, painted dark-blue, purple, green a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Brazil Table Special Edition by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Milano, Peter ShireLocated in La Morra, CuneoBrazil table special edition in lacquered wood by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano collection Additional information: Side table in lacquered wood, realized in a limited edition o...Category
2010s Side Tables
MaterialsWood
- Peninsula Metal and Glass Side Table, by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano Collect.By Memphis Group, Peter ShireLocated in La Morra, CuneoThe Peninsula side table in metal and glass, was originally designed in 1982 by Peter Shire for Memphis Milano. Peter Shire is a Los Angeles artist. Shire was born in the Echo Park...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Bel Air Armchair by Peter Shire, Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Peter ShireLocated in Milano, MILa poltrona Bel Air di Peter Shire, prodotta da Memphis Milano è un pezzo di design unico che rappresenta l'audacia e l'originalità del movimento Memphis. Questo esemplare è stato p...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsCotton, Wood
- Bel Air Armchair by Peter ShireBy Peter ShireLocated in Brooklyn, NYThe Bel Air armchair, designed in 1982 for the second historic Memphis exhibition, is by radical Southern California iconoclast Peter Shire. With its "beachball"-like corner sculptur...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsWool
- Las Vegas armchair by Peter Shire, 1988By Peter ShireLocated in Milano, LombardiaThe "Las Vegas" armchair is a creation of American artist and designer Peter Shire, made in 1988. Shire is known for his eccentric and colorful approach to design, often mixing eleme...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Bone Air Chair by Memphis Milano Designer Peter ShireBy Peter ShireLocated in Kansas City, MOPeter Shire bone chair designed and made in the Studio of Peter Shire, 1983. Only two of these chairs were ever made. The other reside in a private collection in Germany. Very large ...Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Laminate, Wood
- Outdoor Lounge Armchair Bel Air Collection Design by Sacha LakicBy Sacha Lakic, Roche BoboisLocated in Tourcoing, FRLounge armchair Bel Air model design by Sacha Lakic for Roche Bobois composed of a tubular structure in epoxy lacquered metal and recycled fiber resin and hand braided (supplied with...Category
Early 2000s French Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- 'Universal' Chair 'Pink & Gray' by Peter Shire, 1994By Peter ShireLocated in LOS ANGELES, CAVintage chair by Peter Shire, 1994 Steel and Polychrome Paint. Pink seat, grey back, green & red arms, black stretcher bars. Peter Shire: Peter Shire is an LA-based artist whos...Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Chairs
MaterialsSteel