An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century. He was a wild man of the Radical Design movement that swept Italy in the late 1960s and ’70s, rejecting rationalism and modernism in favor of ever-more outrageous imaginings in lighting and furniture such as mirrors, lamps, chairs and tables.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork.
The Memphis Group mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking.
Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass created innovative furnishings for the likes of Artemide, Knoll, Zanotta and Poltronova, where he reigned as artistic director for nearly two decades beginning in 1958. His most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most inspired and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
Sottsass left the Memphis Group in 1985 in order to concentrate on the growth of Sottsass Associati, a design and architecture consultancy he cofounded in 1980.
It was as an artist that Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Find Ettore Sottsass lighting, decorative objects and furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Post modern adjustable lamp by Herda, Netherlands 1980s
By Ettore Sottsass, Herda, Memphis Group
Located in ECHT, NL
Post modern design desk lamp. Made by Dutch company Herda in the 1980s. Made from wood and metal. I has a halogen bulb that is dimmable by a turn knob on the base. The lamp in full ...
Metal
Postmodern Italian 1980s Memphis Style Table Side Lamp, 1980s
By Memphis Milano, Michele de Lucchi, Martine Bedin, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Vienna, AT
A beautiful post-modern minimalist table or side lamp made in Italy in the 1980s, very much in the spirit of Memphis Milano design. The lamp is exceptionally well-made and solidly c...
Metal
$1,235
H 7.49 in W 3.94 in D 7.88 in
White Minibox Table Lamp by Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni for Stilnovo, 1980s
By Stilnovo, Gae Aulenti
Located in Rotterdam, NL
White Minibox table lamp designed by Gae Aulenti & Piero Castiglioni and manufactured by Stilnovo in 1980. This halogen table lamp can also be used as a 'torch' thanks to the ha...
Metal
$2,656 / set
H 9.65 in W 7.88 in D 3.94 in
Pair of Dorane Table Lamps by Ettore Sottsass for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Stilnovo, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Pair of Dorane table lamps designed in 1977 by Ettore Sottsass and manufactured by Stilnovo, Milan. The base of these lamps is made of lacquered m...
Metal
Modernist Table Lamp Attributed to Stilnovo, 1950s
By Angelo Lelii, Stilnovo, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Vienna, AT
A very remarkable modernist architectural Stilnovo table lamp or light object. Its bold sculptural design is reminiscent of early pieces by Angelo Lelli and Ettore Sottsass. Two lacq...
Brass, Metal
Rare Italian Mid-Century Table / Desk Lamp in style of Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in New York, NY
A Rare Italian Mid-Century Modern Table / Desk Lamp in style of Ettore Sottsass circa 1970. The piece is an early for-runner of post-modern work executed before the advent of Memphis Design. It combines a sober design form with the frame in gray steel while utilizing 2 plastic (perspex) reflectors, the lower one in white and the top round one in violet. These colors combined with its original yellow rubber electrical cord provide subtle drama while maintaining a pure modern form. The result is a captivating and functional work of art and design. Additional References: Alessandro Mendini, Memphis Milano, Post-Modern, George Snowden...
Steel
Don Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Stilnovo, 1970s
By Ettore Sottsass, Stilnovo
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Don table lamp designed in 1977 by Ettore Sottsass and manufactured by Stilnovo. The lamp consists of a relative heavy emerald green cubic base, a white ...
Metal
Pileino' Table Lamp by Gae Aulenti for Artemide, 1972
By Gae Aulenti
Located in Chicago, IL
The ‘Pileino’ table lamp, designed by Gae Aulenti in 1972 for Artemide, is a rare space age classic. Crafted from white lacquered metal with a plastic base, this sculptural lamp has ...
Metal
Venini Kiritam Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass
By Ettore Sottsass, Venini
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Venini Kiritam table lamp by Ettore Sottsass. Numbered Edition for year Marble Base Color: Milk-White/Aquamarine Measurements: Ø 15.35"" H 18.89"" 1 x max E27 10W LED + 3 x ma...
Glass
Post Modern Desk Lamp by Ron Rezek, ca. 1980's
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in New York, NY
Chic 1980's desk lamp by Ron Rezek, in excellent original, clean and working condition, showing only light cosmetic wear, normal and consistent with age. The hood shade (6.5 in. diam...
Metal
Ettore Sottsass Halo Click Table Lamp Philips, 1988
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Rare ‘Halo Click 2’ table lamp designed by Ettore Sottsass for Philips, Holland 1988. This rare off-white table lamp was designed by Ettore Sottsass for the...
Metal
Ettore Sottsass "Halo Click 2" Table Lamp for Philips 1988
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Very rare unusual colored ‘Halo Click 2’ table lamp designed by Ettore Sottsass for Philips, Holland 1988. This rare lime green table lamp was d...
Metal
Ettore Sottsass Halo Click 2 Table Lamp Black Philips 1988
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Nice ‘Halo Click 2’ table lamp designed by Ettore Sottsass and manufactured by Philips, Holland 1988. This rare dark grey table lamp was designed by Ettore ...
Metal
Gino Sarfatti Table Lamps Model 540P by Arteluce, Italy, 1968
By Arteluce, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Fantastic pair of table or wall lamps model 540P designed by Gino Sarfatti and manufactured by Arteluce, Italy, 1968. These table lamps have a plexiglass bas...
Aluminum
Lumenform table lamp by Ennio Chiggio Italy 1970
By Lumenform, Ennio Chiggio
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Rare and impressive table lamp designed by Ennio Chiggio and made by Lumenform in Italy in 1970. It's quite unique because it looks like the chrome shade is floating in the air, but ...
Chrome
Gino Sarfatti 607 table lamp by Arteluce Italy 1971
By Arteluce, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
The Model 607 Table Lamp, designed by Gino Sarfatti in 1971 and manufactured by Arteluce, Italy, is a remarkable example of mid-century modern design, blending technical innovation w...
Aluminum
