Memphis design, a colourful experience

David Bowie passed away in January 2016. A keen collector of art and design, Bowie had a fine collection of furniture from the Italian 'Memphis' movement of the early 1980s. Some of these pieces fetched high prices at a sale organised by Sotheby's at the end of last year. Since then, the Memphis style has come back into fashion. How did Memphis, at one time, revolutionise the idea of 'beautiful design'? What were the origins of this movement and its initiators? Memphis is an Italian design and architecture movement founded in Milan in 1980. The name also refers to a group of architects and designers who embraced a certain state of mind, known as the Memphis Group - Gruppo Memphis -. Unlike previous design movements, Memphis did not obey a manifesto; it was above all a desire to make furniture with great freedom in reaction to the bourgeois style of the time. We can't talk about Memphis without mentioning its founder, one of the greatest Italian designers of the second half of the 20th century, Ettore Sottsass . Born in Austria in 1917, Ettore Sottsass studied architecture and graduated from Milan's Politecnico in 1939. He began to make a name for himself when, in 1956, he began a collaboration that would last some twenty years with the Italian firm Olivetti . This partnership produced objects that have become cult items, such as the Valentine, a bright red portable typewriter. - David Bowie actually owned one! David Bowie actually owned one! -. [caption id="attachment8676" align="aligncenter" width="558"] Valentine portable typewriter, design Ettore Sottsass and Perry A.King, 1969 Valentine portable typewriter, design Ettore Sottsass and Perry A.King, 1969[/caption] While Sottsass benefited from the post-war economic boom, which helped to develop the Italian furniture industry, he was marked by a trip to India in 1961, before moving to California at the height of the Pop Art period. These seminal experiences led him to question the societal significance of design. In 1972, he headlined the now cult MoMA exhibition Italy: the New Domestic Landscape . The show caused a sensation, "dynamiting" the predominance of the European style inherited from the Bauhaus, and criticising the increasing industrialisation of the furniture industry. [caption id="attachment8677" align="aligncenter" width="466"] The first Italian computer, the Elea 9003, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1958. For this work he was awarded the Compasso d'Oro (the most influential international design prize at the time). - Source Source[/caption] In 1977, Ettore Sottsass joined the Alchimia studio, founded a year earlier by architects Alessandro Mendini and Alessandro Guerriero. Alchimia sketched out the contours of what Memphis would become: a spirit of freedom that mixed styles and materials. But Sottsass wanted to go further. In 1980, he left Alchimia with Michele de Lucchi and founded Memphis, in reference to a Bob Dylan song, Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again . [caption id="attachment8678" align="aligncenter" width="395"] Zanotta chest of drawers, Alessandro Mendini, 1980 Zanotta chest of drawers, Alessandro Mendini, 1980 [/caption] Surrounded by younger designers such as Marco Zanoni, Aldo Cibic and Martine Bedin, the members of Memphis were going to send the chrome of the tables and their smoked Plexiglas, the beige tones of the sofas and other modular bookcases to hell. They needed colour, asymmetrical shapes in a zany décor, and in short, they wanted to shatter the 'good design' of the 70s... [caption id="attachment8679" align="aligncenter" width="412"] Super table lamp by Martine Bedin for Memphis Milano, 1981 - Source Source [/caption] [caption id="attachment8680*" align="aligncenter" width="415"] Ashoka lamp, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, 1981 Ashoka lamp, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, 1981 - Source [/caption] Memphis's stroke of genius was to turn plastic laminate, more commonly known as formica or laminate, a material that was then a symbol of vulgarity and low quality, into a vehicle for its creativity. The members of the movement used it by customising it to subvert the aesthetic codes in force at the time. They also combined it with much more traditional materials such as lacquered wood, metal and fabric. [caption id="attachment8681" align="aligncenter" width="684"] Ettore Sottsass, Carlton Library Tahiti Lamp, Memphis Milano, 1981 Ettore Sottsass, Carlton Library Tahiti Lamp, Memphis Milano, 1981 [/caption] [caption id="attachment8682" align="aligncenter" width="503"] Lido, Sofa , 1982. Design Michele de Lucchi for Memphis Milano Lido, Sofa , 1982. Design Michele de Lucchi for Memphis Milano[/caption] The Carlton storage bookcase designed by Sottsass in 1981 is made of polychrome lacquered wood and plastic laminate. The laminate panels combine bright colours, and the flexibility of the material allows for surprising geometric shapes, like totem poles for example, recalling the creative language of Pop-Art artist Keith Haring, a contemporary of Memphis. The Tahiti lamp also combines different materials. The base is in white laminate with a repeating pattern typical of Memphis, combined with polychrome enamelled metal. Memphis designers blur the lines, combining materials that are so different that they end up developing a new language. The Lido sofa designed by Michele de Lucchi Michele de Lucchi combines laminate, lacquered wood, metal and an upholstery fabric created for the occasion. There's nothing surprising about these assemblages or agglomerations. In the spirit of Sottsass, Memphis design is more like a "succession of happy accidents" involving materials that ultimately make up astonishing ensembles. Unlike more formal design, in which the object has a structure, with Memphis the design process is reversed. Disparate elements are ultimately used to create unity. Memphis designers are not afraid to combine plain plastics, laminated prints or printed fabrics with more noble materials, such as marble or burr walnut. How about the Agra sofa, designed by Sottsass in 1982, which combines marble with chintz cotton? The marble looks like plastic, in a role that belies its nobility... [caption id="attachment8730" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Ettore Sottsass, divano Agra, Memphis Milano, 1982 Ettore Sottsass, divano Agra, Memphis Milano, 1982[/caption] The members of Memphis attached particular importance to decoration. In this respect, it is interesting to single out a singular figure in the movement, Nathalie Du Pasquier . She designed many of the printed motifs found on Memphis furniture, textiles, carpets and objects. A gifted decorator, she mixes all styles: cubism, futurism, art-deco, and is inspired by more exotic cultures such as Africa and India, but also draws on graffiti, manga and science fiction. [caption id="attachment8684" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Royal Sofa, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Memphis Milano, 1983 Royal Sofa, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Memphis Milano, 1983[/caption] [caption id="attachment8685*" align="aligncenter" width="493"] "Oberoi" chairs, Georges J. Snowden, Memphis Milano, 1981. Designs by Nathalie Du Pasquier "Oberoi" chairs, Georges J. Snowden, Memphis Milano, 1981. Designs by Nathalie Du Pasquier[/caption] [caption id="attachment8686*" align="aligncenter" width="459"] Left: Design by Nathalie Du Pasquier, 1984 / Right: Carpet designed by Nathalie Du Pasquier for Memphis Milano, 1983 Left: Design by Nathalie Du Pasquier, 1984 / Right: Carpet designed by Nathalie Du Pasquier for Memphis Milano, 1983 [/caption] [caption id="attachment8729*" align="aligncenter" width="530"] Nathalie Du Pasquier, designs created for Memphis Milano, 1981-1983 Nathalie Du Pasquier, designs created for Memphis Milano, 1981-1983 - Source Source [/caption] Officially launched on 18 September 1981 with the presentation of the first models at the Milan Furniture Fair, the Memphis adventure came to an end in 1988. Ettore Sottsass Ettore Sottsass and his team succeeded in their aim: to marry a new language of furniture, sensual and less intellectual, with the aesthetic canons of the time. The Memphis movement produced almost 300 pieces in 8 "Memphis Milano" collections, created between 1981 and 1988. This historic catalogue of collections still exists, distributed by the Memphis Memphis Memphis company. Historic furniture and objects continue to be produced using traditional methods; the Memphis catalogue has also been enriched with other collections, much to the delight of passionate collectors who draw their energy from Memphis. The Memphis catalogue has also been enriched with other collections, much to the delight of passionate collectors who draw on Memphis for their ever-enthusiastic energy! [caption id="attachment_8687" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Photo from the private collection of Dennis Zanone, now considered the world's leading collector of Memphis Photo from the private collection of Dennis Zanone, now considered the world's leading collector of Memphis - Source [/caption] François Boutard François Boutard François Boutard

Memphis design, a colourful experience

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