1960s Daybeds

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) A lively and playful modernist daybed or sofa by Memphis Milano founder Ettore Sottsass, in red lacquered walnut with a black-upholstered cushion and two bolster pillows in chartreuse. An early work by the revolutionary designer and eventual gray eminence of postmodernism, the piece marks an important transitional period as Sottsass moved away from strict functionalism to incorporate ideas from contemporary art, art history, and religion. The sofa eschews the man-made materials of his later Memphis Group works, but anticipates them in its vivid palette. “Every color has a history,” Sottsass said. “Red is the color of the Communist flag, the color that makes a surgeon move faster, and the color of passion.” Indeed, the sensuality of the sofa's hues whimsically counterbalances its minimalist forms. The staggered repetition of the frame's vertical slats, alternating between wide and narrow, forecast the stripes of Sottsass's Nefertiti desk...