For TEFAF Online New York 2020, Friedman Benda is pleased to present Commode Column, one of Ettore Sottsass’ most notable works and one of just a few examples of his multifunctional tower furniture that were made in the early-to-mid 1960s. Sottsass was one of the most significant counter-forces to modernism in design history, and he brought his powerful artistic vision to an expansive range of disciplines: architecture, ceramics, furniture, glass, industrial design, painting, photography, and writing.
“Commode Column” was executed circa 1960 and remained in the collection of Sottsass’ friend and fabricator Renzo Brugola for more than 50 years. The only other example of its kind was realized at the same time for Sottsass’ Milan apartment that he shared with his wife Fernanda Pivano, who would go on to live with it until her passing in 2009.
Key works by Sottsass are held in museum collections worldwide, including Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and M+ Museum, Hong Kong.
