Michelle de Lucchi for Memphis

MICHELE DE LUCCHI (Italy, 1951) for Memphis Milano.
“First” Chair.
Metal and lacquered wood.
In good condition, with visible signs of wear consistent with its age and use.
Measurements: 92 x 65 x 48 cm.
The “First,” designed by Michele De Lucchi in 1983 for Memphis Milano, is one of the most recognizable pieces of Italian postmodern design from the 1980s. Conceived as a true habitable sculpture, the chair deliberately breaks with the tradition of the conventional seat by combining elementary geometric shapes. The historical significance of this chair is reflected in its widespread presence in international museum collections. Examples are held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among other institutions. The example at the Centre Pompidou was acquired through a donation by De Lucchi himself in 2004.
De Lucchi studied at the Enrico Fermi Scientific High School in Padua and trained as an architect under Adolfo Natalini at the University of Florence. In 1973, he co-founded the architecture and design group Cavart, which promoted a program of radical design through happenings, publications, and seminars. De Lucchi also collaborated with Superstudio, Ettore Sottsass, and Gaetano Pesce. He also taught architecture at the University of Florence from 1975 to 1977. That year, he moved to Milan to work as a consultant at the Kartell studio, Centrokappa. He later worked with his friend Ettore Sottsass on the plans for the first Memphis exhibition. In 1979, he designed prototypes of household appliances for Studio Alchimia and served as a consultant for Olivetti. In 1981, he co-founded Memphis and introduced geometric patterns into the cooperative’s plastic laminates. In the early 1990s, he founded the De Lucchi Group and has since completed numerous projects in Japan and Germany. De Lucchi has won numerous design awards, including the Good Design Award (Japan), Die Gute Form and Deutsche Auswahl (Germany), and a Compasso d’Oro (Italy).