The exhibition titled “Ettore Sottsass – Rebel and Poet” featuring the works of Austro-Italian designer Ettore Sottsass is on view at Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany.The show includes approximately 30 of Sottsass’ furniture designs, consumer products, as well as numerous photographs and writings. The designer’s most well-known works are his furniture designs for the Memphis group. These works ushered in the postmodern aesthetic of the 1980s. The colors, forms, and designs were inspired by from everyday life, Pop culture and the non-European civilizations that Sottsass experienced during his extensive travels the 1960s onwards. This resulted in well-known pieces such as the "Carlton bookcase" (1981), "the lamps Ashoka" (1981) and "Tahiti" (1981), and the "Tartar table" (1985). These were designed to communicate and at the same time free the user from the functionalist design approach. ‘Ettore Sottsass – Rebel and Poet’ also contains works from the designer’s earlier periods such as the "Califfo sofa" (1964), the "Kubirolo storage cabinets" (1966-67), and pieces from the "Mobili Grigi furniture series" (1970) for Poltronova.Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) was an Italian architect and designer. He studied at the Politecnico di Torino in Turin and graduated in 1939. The designer served in the military and was a prisoner of war and then spent time in a labor camp in Yugoslavia. In 1947, he set up his own architectural and industrial design studio in Milan. He gained fame with his designs for the office equipment manufacturer Olivetti. Sottsass also produced minimalist sculptural objects and was the leading figure of the Memphis design collective in the 1980s.“Ettore Sottsass – Rebel and Poet” runs through September 24, 2017 at Vitra Design Museum, Charles-Eames-Straße 2, 79576 Weil am Rhein, Germany.For details, visit: http://www.design-museum.de/en/Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the exhibition.
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