Ettore Sottsass
*14. 9. 1917 – Innsbruck, Austria
†31. 12. 2007 – Milan, Italy
Biography
Ettore Sottsass was an Austrian-born designer who grew up in Turin and became famous as a postmodern furniture designer, glass objects, kitchen equipment, and jewelry. His father, who bore the same name, was an architect and a representative of the interwar modernists MIAR.
Ettore Sottsass graduated in architecture in 1939 from the Polytechnic University of Turin. During World War II, he enlisted in the Republican Fascist Party and fought in the mountains alongside Hitler's army. After the war, he opened his own design and architectural office in Milan in 1947. He experimented with various colors, patterns, and shapes. His creations were often associated with pop culture due to their whimsical forms and vibrant colors.
In 1949, he married the writer, journalist, translator, and critic Fernanda Pivano. From 1954 to 1957, he was a member of the International Movement for Imaginary Bauhaus, from which he resigned in protest. In 1956, he traveled to New York and began working in the office of designer George Nelson. In the same year, he was hired by Adrian Olivetti as a design consultant for Olivetti. His designs were influenced by experiences from his travels in the United States and India. In 1970, Sottsass and Fernanda Pivano divorced, and in 1976, Sottsass married Barbara Radice, an art critic and journalist.
When Roberto Olivetti became the head of the company, he wanted to appoint Sottsass as artistic director. Instead, Sottsass created Studio Olivetti independent of the Olivetti company, which quickly became the most creative international design center combining research with creation and industrial strategy. He was concerned that working in a corporation would hinder his creativity.
On December 11, 1980, he founded the Memphis Group in Milan after a Bob Dylan song "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" was played at the group's founding meeting. The design group operated from 1981 to 1988. Sottsass focused the group’s thinking on "radicalness, fun, and provocation" - essentially ignoring what was then considered "good taste." Inspiration for their creations came from Art Deco, the color palette of Pop Art, and the kitschy themes of the 1950s. He also designed his own print known as the Bacterio print, which was a square-shaped print. He was inspired by the structure and shape of the surface of a Buddhist temple in Madurai, India, which he abstracted into square shapes that he named Bacterio. This pattern was then used in his furniture designs in the form of veneers and fabrics.
In 1980, he also founded a design consultancy firm called Sottsass Associati. It was intended to enable him to carry out architectural realizations and designs for large international industrial enterprises. Besides him, the other founding members were Aldo Cibic, Marco Marabelli, Matteo Thun, and Marco Zanini. Later, Johanna Grawunder, Marco Susani, and Mike Ryan joined the firm. In 1985, he left Memphis to focus on Sottsass Associati.
Ettore Sottsass was an Austrian-born designer who grew up in Turin and became famous as a postmodern furniture designer, glass objects, kitchen equipment, and jewelry. His father, who bore the same name, was an architect and a representative of the interwar modernists MIAR.
Ettore Sottsass graduated in architecture in 1939 from the Polytechnic University of Turin. During World War II, he enlisted in the Republican Fascist Party and fought in the mountains alongside Hitler's army. After the war, he opened his own design and architectural office in Milan in 1947. He experimented with various colors, patterns, and shapes. His creations were often associated with pop culture due to their whimsical forms and vibrant colors.
In 1949, he married the writer, journalist, translator, and critic Fernanda Pivano. From 1954 to 1957, he was a member of the International Movement for Imaginary Bauhaus, from which he resigned in protest. In 1956, he traveled to New York and began working in the office of designer George Nelson. In the same year, he was hired by Adrian Olivetti as a design consultant for Olivetti. His designs were influenced by experiences from his travels in the United States and India. In 1970, Sottsass and Fernanda Pivano divorced, and in 1976, Sottsass married Barbara Radice, an art critic and journalist.
When Roberto Olivetti became the head of the company, he wanted to appoint Sottsass as artistic director. Instead, Sottsass created Studio Olivetti independent of the Olivetti company, which quickly became the most creative international design center combining research with creation and industrial strategy. He was concerned that working in a corporation would hinder his creativity.
On December 11, 1980, he founded the Memphis Group in Milan after a Bob Dylan song "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" was played at the group's founding meeting. The design group operated from 1981 to 1988. Sottsass focused the group’s thinking on "radicalness, fun, and provocation" - essentially ignoring what was then considered "good taste." Inspiration for their creations came from Art Deco, the color palette of Pop Art, and the kitschy themes of the 1950s. He also designed his own print known as the Bacterio print, which was a square-shaped print. He was inspired by the structure and shape of the surface of a Buddhist temple in Madurai, India, which he abstracted into square shapes that he named Bacterio. This pattern was then used in his furniture designs in the form of veneers and fabrics.
In 1980, he also founded a design consultancy firm called Sottsass Associati. It was intended to enable him to carry out architectural realizations and designs for large international industrial enterprises. Besides him, the other founding members were Aldo Cibic, Marco Marabelli, Matteo Thun, and Marco Zanini. Later, Johanna Grawunder, Marco Susani, and Mike Ryan joined the firm. In 1985, he left Memphis to focus on Sottsass Associati.
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