Collecting 101
5 Things to Know About Memphis
Founded in 1980 by Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano was a design movement characterised by bold, bright colours and unconventional shapes. Active from 1981-1987, it offered an explosive, maximal and rebellious alternative to the rigidity and muted sobriety of 20th-century modernism. ‘Form follows function’ became ‘form follows fun.’
After a bold entrance on the Italian design scene – and a mixed critical reception – the Memphis collective made waves in the industry. 40 years on, Memphis remains a fertile source of inspiration for creatives across disciplines, and increasingly entices collectors with its wit, exuberance and distinctive elegance-meets-eccentricity.
As demand for Memphis continues to rise, we explore the history of this short-lived, but potent design movement that heralded the start of post-modernism, illustrated with highlights sold at Bonhams.
1.
Beginnings
Memphis Milano was conceived on the night of 11 December 1980, in Sottsass’ Milan living room. The Austrian-born Italian designer gathered a group of young artists, architects and designers to discuss what the future of design might look like. Disinterested in the minimal and functional status quo that ruled mid-century aesthetics, they hatched a plan to take design into uncharted waters. As Sottsass said, ‘When I was young, all we ever heard about was functionalism, functionalism, functionalism. It's not enough. Design should also be sensual and exciting.’
Their collective name was taken from a Bob Dylan song, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, which repeatedly played during that fateful first meeting. For Sottsass, ‘Memphis’ represented two things: a city in Tennessee and ancient Egypt's capital. The ambiguity of that moniker would be mirrored in the group’s revolutionary approach to creation.
Three months after the initial meeting, the collective – which included Michele de Lucchi, George Sowden, Martine Bedin, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Marco Zanini and Matteo Thun – returned with more than a hundred drawings and were ready to start the next chapter of Memphis design.
Peter Shire (born 1947); Untitled (Sculpture), 1983-84. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
Peter Shire (born 1947); Untitled (Sculpture), 1983-84. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
Michele de Lucchi (born 1951); Continental Occasional Table, 1983. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
Michele de Lucchi (born 1951); Continental Occasional Table, 1983. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
2.
Hallmarks of Memphis
Memphis Milano – considered a descendant of the Radical Design movement – soon attracted worldwide attention, not all of it favourable. It offered an entirely new visual language, which proved too much for those accustomed to the pared-back minimalism and no-fuss function of modernism at the time.
Memphis was an amalgam of historical references. Pieces were infused with the colours of pop art, the bold geometric forms of the Art Deco movement and the influence of whimsical 1950s kitsch.
The group designed lighting, fabrics, carpets, ceramics, glass and metal objects, with furniture clad in inexpensive plastic laminate and terrazzo in primary colours and pastel hues. Though directed towards a luxury, middle-class demographic, Memphis avoided using precious or expensive materials. They aimed to shatter notions of ‘good taste' and in the process provoke outrage, drop jaws and reinstated the fun in functional.
Fashionable in its lack of rationality and rules, the movement was an ambush of pattern and colour clashes, chaotic configurations, squiggles, waves and atypical shapes that challenged the accepted design standards of the era head-on.
One of the most recognisable designs to emerge from the movement was Ettore Sottsass' Carlton bookcase (1981). Designed for Memphis’ first collection, this defining piece epitomised all that the movement stood for: geometric volumes, playful, garish colour combinations, a rejection of minimalism and the transformation of modest materials into a work of collectable art. Indeed, examples of this bookcase can now be found in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
3.
Designers
Sottsass aimed to create a global community with Memphis, recruiting a myriad of international designers and architects to join the ranks and create collections. But Sottsass himself was also a prolific contributor to the movement. One of his most notable visual inventions was the Bacterio (or ‘squiggle’) print – a confetti-like pattern designed in 1978, and from which many Memphis Group members would draw inspiration. Other key works created by Sottsass include the Tahiti table lamp, the Casablanca cabinet, and the Beverly sideboard, all designed in 1981.
Nathalie du Pasquier, a Milan-based artist and designer, was the youngest member of Memphis Milano and continues to maintain its legacy today. In 2013, she and Danish company HAY joined forces on a range of post-Memphis patterned bags.
Other founding members that remain leading figures in contemporary design include Italian designer Marco Zanini, British designer and product developer, George Sowden, and Italian architect and designer Michele de Lucchi.
Lot 266. Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007); Treetops Floor Lamp, 1981. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
Lot 266. Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007); Treetops Floor Lamp, 1981. Sold for US$2,805 inc. premium.
Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007); Mobile Giallo Cabinet, circa 1988. Sold for US$11,475 inc. premium.
Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007); Mobile Giallo Cabinet, circa 1988. Sold for US$11,475 inc. premium.
4.
Collectors
Memphis made its bold entrance to the market at the 1981 edition of the renowned Milan design fair, Salone del Mobile. It was met with commercial rejection but paradoxically garnered a star-studded cult following. Not only did fashion titan Karl Lagerfeld buy the entirety of Sottsass’ debut collection, but the inimitable designer’s Monaco penthouse was also a wall-to-wall shrine to Memphis.
In 2011, Memphis met haute couture in Christian Dior’s Fall/Winter 2011 collection where all the bold electricity of Memphis found its way onto the runway. This very year, another Parisian fashion house Saint Laurent unveiled storefronts and a capsule collection of garments, accessories, and homeware dedicated to all things Memphis to celebrate the movement’s recent 40th anniversary
In 2016, David Bowie put Memphis back on the map. When his estate auctioned his art collection, it was revealed that he had amassed more than 400 pieces since the 1980s. Due to the immaculate provenance of the works, prices were high and the sale made almost £1.4m. Auctions such as these have reaffirmed Memphis’ position as a pivotal era in design history, and one that remains relevant today.
To that end, Millennial and Gen-X collectors have rediscovered and embraced the movement as they seek to define and re-define their style. Influencer and curator Raquel Cayre is proving that Memphis is very much alive in the 21st century with her Instagram profile, appropriately named @ettoresottsass. Her New York apartment has been transformed into a temple to the movement – with a combination of Memphis Milano and Milano-inspired works where art and design blend and meld.
5.
On the Market
Though the movement existed on the fringes during its lifespan, Memphis continues to inspire collectors, designers and artists. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the movement's philosophy and aesthetic, which has, in turn, fuelled demand.
In the interior design world, creatives including Kelly Behun and Oliver M. Furth continue to incorporate Memphis ideas into their concepts. Others are giving new life to and re-interpreting Memphis aesthetic through their work, including London-based French artist and designer Camille Walala.
Although the Memphis Milano brand continues to manufacture many of its designs, first-iteration works created during the movement’s brief lifespan are the most coveted. Due to the variety of materials and types of functional and non-functional works, pieces are available at a wide range of price points. It’s important to assess the provenance of any piece, but as the movement’s works are neither dated nor signed (they instead bear an official metal Memphis label), obtaining original documentation is advised.
Works of particular note and renown include the Murmansk centerpiece by Sottsass (1982), the distinctive and playful Continental table by Michele de Lucchi (1994) featuring cow coat pattern, and Peter Shire’s Big Sur sofa (1986), which is both a piece of statement furniture and radical art.
The hunger for Memphis is increasing in the current design market. Following a long spell of desire for the mid-century modern look, bold colours and maximalist shapes appear to be back in vogue, a trend spanning art, product and fashion design, and architecture.
One of the most appealing traits about the Memphis Milano movement is its open-minded, optimistic and accessible approach, with admirers and prospective collectors drawn to Memphis for its liberal spirit, ability to go against the grain, and belief in design as a form of communication, not elitism.
Curious to learn more? Contact our specialists with auction or consignment inquiries design.us@bonhams.com.
Nathalie du Pasquier (Born 1957) and George Sowden (Born 1942); Neos Table Clock, 1980. Sold for US$2,295 inc. premium.
Nathalie du Pasquier (Born 1957) and George Sowden (Born 1942); Neos Table Clock, 1980. Sold for US$2,295 inc. premium.
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