"Casablanca" Storage Unit by Ettore Sottsass, 1981
View Similar Items
"Casablanca" Storage Unit by Ettore Sottsass, 1981
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 87.01 in (221 cm)Width: 59.45 in (151 cm)Depth: 15.36 in (39 cm)
- Style:Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1981
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Berlin, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU98071876662
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.
- "Casablanca" Cabinet, Design by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Italy, 1981By Ettore SottsassLocated in Napoli, IT"Casablanca" cabinet designed by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Italy, 1981. Wood construction with colored laminate covering shelving with two doors and three drawers. Unlimited Edi...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Cabinets
MaterialsWood
- Casablanca Wood Cabinet, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano CollectionBy Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoCasablanca cabinet designed in 1981 for Memphis by Ettore Sottsass, in wood and plastic laminated colors. This is an unlimited edition with a number...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cabinets
MaterialsWood, Plastic
- Charlotte Perriand 513 Riflesso Storage Unit by CassinaBy Charlotte Perriand, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaStorage unit designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1939. Relaunched in 2014. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Part of the Cassina collection since 2004, the Riflesso storage unit cr...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cupboards
MaterialsAluminum
$18,077 / item - Charlotte Perriand 513 Riflesso Storage Unit by CassinaBy Charlotte Perriand, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaStorage unit designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1939. Relaunched in 2014. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Part of the Cassina collection since 2004, the Riflesso storage unit cr...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cupboards
MaterialsAluminum
$18,077 / item - Charlotte Perriand 513 Riflesso Storage Unit by CassinaBy Charlotte Perriand, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaThe Charlotte Perriand 513 Riflesso storage unit, reissued by Cassina, is a true work of art that reflects the designer's impeccable taste and sense of st...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cupboards
MaterialsAluminum
$20,268 / item - Charlotte Perriand 513 Riflesso Storage Unit by CassinaBy Charlotte Perriand, CassinaLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaStorage unit designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1939. Relaunched in 2014. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Part of the Cassina collection since 2004, the Riflesso storage unit cr...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Cupboards
MaterialsAluminum
$19,173 / item