Ettore Sottsass

ETTORE SOTTSASS (Innsbruck, Austria, 1917–Milan, 2007) for Bieffeplast, Padua, Italy.
Beam 1 floor lamp. 1980.
Lacquered steel and metal.
With manufacturer’s label.
In good condition, with slight signs of wear consistent with its age.
Measurements: 190 × 27.5 × 27.5 cm.

The Beam 1 dates from a pivotal moment in Ettore Sottsass’s career, immediately preceding the launch of the first Memphis collection in 1981. In contrast to the vibrant colors and formal exuberance that would characterize that movement, this light fixture adopts an essential and rigorously geometric language, a testament to the designer’s wide range of styles and his transition from rationalism to postmodern thought.

The model is structured as a vertical form of great purity, in which the contrast between the metallized shaft and the blue discs draws attention to the indirect light. More than a mere light fixture, Sottsass presents an object with its own spatial presence, where industrial simplicity takes on a symbolic and sculptural dimension. The presence of its original Bieffeplast label further enhances the piece’s appeal.

Ettore Sottsass was a key figure in 20th-century design and the founder of the Memphis Group. His body of work spanned architecture, furniture, lighting, ceramics, and technological design; his work is represented at MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which dedicated the retrospective *Ettore Sottsass: Design Radical* to him in 2017.