Ettore Sottsass Daybed, Red Lacquered Wood, Chartreuse Upholstery, Italy C. 1962

Product Details

Product Description

This modernist daybed or sofa by Ettore Sottsass, the founder of Memphis Milano, is a joyful and playful piece. It features red lacquered walnut and a black-upholstered cushion, with two chartreuse bolster pillows. Although an early work from his career, it represents an essential period for the designer as he shifted from strict functionalism to incorporate contemporary art, art history, and religion. This sofa differs from his later works with Memphis Group, yet its bold color palette anticipates the vivid hues of his later pieces. Sottsass believed that every color has a history and stated that the use of red represents the Communist flag, a surgeon's ability to move faster, and passion. The sofa's sensual colors playfully counterbalance its minimalist shapes and its striped Romanesque cathedrals are evident in the staggering repetition of the frame's vertical slats alternated between wide and narrow. Sottsass's interest in minimalist painting and Pop Art is visible in the bold colors that make the sofa a conversation piece. Sottsass was never ignorant of heritage, even as he turned Art Deco and Bauhaus forms on their heads with his innovative designs. In 1963, Sottsass expressed his approach to design in a Domus magazine interview with Gio Ponti - he aims to collect the shapes, colors, and symbols that can represent the change in the images of this century from intellectual to tangible energy. This sofa radiates vitality and is shown in the final images with a pair of Tom Dixon floor lamps in gold leaf, also available at our gallery. It was made in Italy in about 1962, measuring 80" L x 27" D x 38" H.

Additional Product Details

GLINT Verified is our own designation and means that we inspect every item, every time.

Payment options

Guaranteed safe & secure checkout powered by Stripe