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Why is Ettore Sottsass famous?
1 Answer
Ettore Sottsass is famous for his work as an architect and an industrial designer, which spurred a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was the oldest member of the Memphis Group, a design collective formed in Milan in 1980. Having grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown corporatized modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s, the Memphis Group produced 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 like animal skins. Other than his Ultrafragola mirror (1970), Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981. They include the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. Shop a diverse assortment of Ettore Sotsass furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.
1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
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Shop for Ettore Sottsass Furniture on 1stDibs
Ettore Sottsas Ospite Table Zanotta Postmodern, 1980s
By Ettore Sottsass, Zanotta
Located in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Ettore Sottsass's Ospite dining table.
Designed in 1984 and produced by Zanotta. Painted brier veneer top and three brass silver legs.
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Materials
Brass
Post-Modern Ettore Sottsass Burl Wood Table Memphis, Italy, 1990s
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Antwerp, BE
Round Memphis table featuring a luxurious burl wood top paired with elegantly crafted legs in a vibrant blue lacquer, paying homage to the distinctive design philosophy of Ettore Sot...
Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
Materials
Burl, Lacquer
Mirror Signed by "Ettore Sottsass Produced by Glas Italia" Italy 2007
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Dioniso 1 mirror of early production designed by Ettore Sottsass in 2007 for Glas Italia 2007, comprises white, orange, red, and yellow colored glass in geometric shapes that surroun...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Mirrors
Materials
Mirror
1986 Enorme Telephone Handset by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A perfectly postmodern telephone handset designed by the Memphis Milano master, Ettore Sottsass, and produced in 1986. The Enorme telephone was the result of a collaboration between...
Category
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Scientific Instruments
Materials
Plastic
Ettore Sottsass Mandarin Dining Set in Carrara Marble, Red & Black, 1986 Italy
By Knoll, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Grand Cayman, KY
Icon of the Memphis Milano Movement. A set of four Ettore Sottsass Mandarin chairs for Knoll. Black Alcantara upholstery. Arms in red lacquer. Additionally, a Carrara marble round pe...
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Armchairs
Materials
Metal, Steel
Pink Glazed Ceramic Shiva Flower Vase by Ettore Sottsass 20th Century Spanish
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Barcelona, ES
The Shiva vase is sculpture and vase. It is a symbol of Ettore Sottsass and an icon.
Sottsass designed the Shiva Vase when travelling to Barcelona for love in 1973. He encountered m...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Vases
Materials
Ceramic