Ettore Sottsass Overview

A child of Modernism, Ettore Sottsass elevated the structures of design to new intellectual and philosophical levels. After receiving an architectural degree from the Polytechnic in Turin, Sottsass opened his own design studio, where he dabbled in furniture, sculptural projects, and... [more]

A child of Modernism, Ettore Sottsass elevated the structures of design to new intellectual and philosophical levels. After receiving an architectural degree from the Polytechnic in Turin, Sottsass opened his own design studio, where he dabbled in furniture, sculptural projects, and the fine and applied arts. In the 1960s, Sottsass worked for Olivetti as an industrial designer -- his projects included redesigning the company's computer and typewriters. Sottsass also developed his own projects, which were designed in reaction to the Modernist notion that design could determine behavior and ideology. His designs attempted to develop meaning over form; he asked the audience to study the spiritual and cultural powers of the object, rather than just the use-value of its design. Sottsass joined the Anti-Design movement of the late '60s and '70s and associated with groups such as Superstudio, Archizoom, and Gruppo Strum. In the latter part of the 1970s, he dabbled in abstract design as part of the group of artists known as Studio Alchimia. His designs became witty experiments with architectural objects and Pop imagery. Sottsass continued this playfulness into the 1980s and early 1990s when he formed Memphis, a group that took Postmodern approaches to Classical architecture. Memphis also created brightly colored plastic-laminate designs reminiscent of the 1950s. Sottsass's famous designs include the "Valentine" typewriter (1969) and the "Casablanca" sideboard (1981). [show less]