Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was an Italian architect and designer known for his industrial and experimental designs. Winner of the prestigious Compaso de oro in 1959, the artist contributed through his work to going beyond functionalist theories after the war.
Like his father before him, Sottsass studied architecture in Turin at the Politecnico, graduating in 1939. In 1947 he moved to Milan and founded his own design studio. In 1956 at the request of the painter and sculptor Sergio Cammilli, he became the artistic director of Poltronova, a new furniture company. Sottsass then created the Poltronova's logo and produced its first catalogues. This collaboration has a strong impact on the work of Sottsass, the catalogues constitute the support of his experimentations with geometric shapes, mixes of materials and vibrant colours.
Between innovation and social criticism, the brand becomes a true standard bearer of Italian creation and collaborates with renowned artists such as Max Ernst. From 1960 to 1970, the ten years of collaboration between the designer and Poltronova, marked a period of almost total freedom for the Sottsass. A moment both rich in creations and decisive in establishing the designer's aesthetics that you can now discover in this book, through an analysis of Sottsass's work, advertising photos of the time, annotated sketches and his personal photographs.
The most creative decade of the Italian designer
The decade that forged the Sottsass look: on the legendary designer's '60s collaboration with the Poltronova company The decade of collaboration between the Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) and Tuscan furniture company Poltronova from 1960 to 1970 marked a phase of almost total freedom for the designer. The breadth of this era, both rich in creations and decisive in establishing the designer's style, is now accessible in this analysis of Sottsass' work, augmented with advertising photos from the period, annotated sketches and his personal photographs. In 1956, at the request of the painter and sculptor Sergio Camilli, Sottsass became the artistic director of Poltronova, Camilli's new furniture company. Sottsass then created Poltronova's logo and produced its first catalogs. The vibrant, playful Poltronova catalogs express his experimentation with geometric shapes, mixes of materials and vibrant colors. The brand became a true standard bearer of Italian creation, collaborating with renowned artists such as Max Ernst. This beautiful catalog, designed in a characteristic Sottsass style, serves as both a guide to all the pieces that he designed with Poltronova and also a celebration of the master's playful spirit in wood, steel, marble and every material he could implement to construct his iconic chairs, cabinets, mirrors and more.
The most creative decade of the Italian designer