"Ivory" Table

Ettore Sottsass|Memphis Milano

1985 · Formica, wood, glass · Modern and Contemporary Art

The title of this table captures the irony and playfulness that pervades Memphis furniture. While ivory connotes purity and preciousness, this table is a riot of color and pattern, constructed of inexpensive materials. Sottsass’s partner and biographer, Barbara Radice, notes that color is intrinsic to Memphis design, that it "works as an enzyme to catalyze chemical reactions, it generates nervous impulses that open new doors of logic in the brain."

Artist

Ettore Sottsass|Memphis Milano

Date

1985

Medium

Formica, wood, glass

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Gift of Dr. Michael Sze, 2002