Ettore Sottsass (1917), Austrian by birth but Italian in heart and soul, opened his own architecture and design studio in 1947. From 1958 he was the design consultant for Olivetti for over 20 years. One of the most remarkable designs from that period is without a doubt the Valentine typewriter, which is now part of the permanent collections of important museums. In the late 1960s – early 1970s, Sottsass played an important role in the avant-garde culture. His definitive rejection of modernism led to the creation of alternative trends that may be grouped under the denominator ‘anti-design’ or ‘radical design’. Sottsass worked both for Studio Alchimia and for the Memphis group. The latter was the fruit of many years of research and aimed to give a new symbolic and emotional value to the living environment and to appliances.
Today this Nestor is still active within Sottsass Associati, a group of designer friends. The exhibition, organized on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Ettore Sottsass, gives an overview of his large but varied oeuvre. Both the aspects of architecture and design are highlighted.
