Ettore Sottsass- Glass for Memphis
Ettore Sottsass (14/09/1917-31/12/2007) was an influential Italian architect and designer during the 20th century. His body of work includes furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home objects and office machine design, as well as many buildings and interiors.
He founded the Memphis Group in Milan, Italy on 11 December 1980, after the Bob Dylan song "Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again" played during the group's inaugural meeting. The group was active from 1981 to 1988.
He started to make designs for glass as early as 1947, when some unica’s were shown at the 8th Triennale of Milan.
From the 1970’s on, he designed glass objects that were based on the origins of language, dust from the history and fragments of sandstone rocks while trying to recapture a trace of archaic curiosity or necessity of human nature. These early pieces were executed by the Visotosi Glass Factory in Murano, Italy.
After founding Memphis in the 1980’s, he designed 2 series of glass work. The first series were based on the architype of vases. He altered the forms by making surface variations with more or less unexpected or disconnected external additions in unusual color combinations.
In the second series, working together with Gigi Toso, he experimented with the techniques of glass making and adding free floting pieces that were connected to a central object with glue or metal treads. This series were inspired by architecture. From a young age, he was already stimulated by his father to become an architect.
After Memphis, he designed other pieces in glass for the glass factory Venini and limited editions for Barovier and Bischofberger. In these last onces, he combines the glass with other materials as wood, marble or metal, but with his own signature in relation to color and form.
In this exhibition, pieces that were made for the second series of Memphis Glass are shown. They reflect the color schemes and forms that are typical for Sottsass.
The exhibition runs from 18/01/2020 until 29/06/2020 and is open by appointment.
Ettore Sottsass (14/09/1917-31/12/2007) was an influential Italian architect and designer during the 20th century. His body of work includes furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home objects and office machine design, as well as many buildings and interiors.
He founded the Memphis Group in Milan, Italy on 11 December 1980, after the Bob Dylan song "Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again" played during the group's inaugural meeting. The group was active from 1981 to 1988.
He started to make designs for glass as early as 1947, when some unica’s were shown at the 8th Triennale of Milan.
From the 1970’s on, he designed glass objects that were based on the origins of language, dust from the history and fragments of sandstone rocks while trying to recapture a trace of archaic curiosity or necessity of human nature. These early pieces were executed by the Visotosi Glass Factory in Murano, Italy.
After founding Memphis in the 1980’s, he designed 2 series of glass work. The first series were based on the architype of vases. He altered the forms by making surface variations with more or less unexpected or disconnected external additions in unusual color combinations.
In the second series, working together with Gigi Toso, he experimented with the techniques of glass making and adding free floting pieces that were connected to a central object with glue or metal treads. This series were inspired by architecture. From a young age, he was already stimulated by his father to become an architect.
After Memphis, he designed other pieces in glass for the glass factory Venini and limited editions for Barovier and Bischofberger. In these last onces, he combines the glass with other materials as wood, marble or metal, but with his own signature in relation to color and form.
In this exhibition, pieces that were made for the second series of Memphis Glass are shown. They reflect the color schemes and forms that are typical for Sottsass.
The exhibition runs from 18/01/2020 until 29/06/2020 and is open by appointment.