Ettore Sottsass

ETTORE SOTTSASS (Austria, 1917 - Italy, 2007), for Olivetti, Italy.
Coat rack "Synthesis 45", ca. 1970's.
Plastic. In black.
Measurements: 180 x 45 x 45 cm.

Coat rack designed by Ettore Sottsass in the 1970's, edited by Olivetti. The design combines simple lines with strong geometric volumes, as was usual in the creations of this Austrian-born designer. The tubular shaft stands on a cross-shaped base, the base of which opens into a cylindrical structure that serves as an umbrella stand. It ends with another cross structure in which the hooks for hanging are distributed.

Ettore Sottsass was a prominent Italian architect and designer of the second half of the twentieth century, founder of the Memphis design group. He studied at the Polytechnic University of Turin, and after serving three years in the army, in 1947 he set up his own office in Milan, called "The Studio". He worked as a design consultant for Olivetti for more than twenty years, creating for the firm the "Valentina" typewriter (1969), which revolutionized the market, and the "Elea 9003" calculator, among other classic designs. He was also internationally known as an architect, involved in numerous projects around the world. Throughout his career he collaborated with leading figures in the world of architecture and design, such as Aldo Cibic, James Irvine and Matteo Thun. In 1981 he founded the Memphis Group, of which he would become one of the leaders, together with Barbara Radice. Sottsass enjoys international prestige thanks to his pioneering work in the renewal of design and architecture, which has managed to overcome the severe functionalism that preceded and followed World War II. In his language, this influential master of Italian design puts the potential energy and vitality of design and color before rigidity and intellectuality. He is currently represented at MoMA and the Metropolitan in New York, the Design Museum in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.