Ettore Sottsass and the Social Factory Opens at ICA Miami

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Miami has inaugurated 'Ettore Sottsass and the Social Factory,' a biennial exhibition dedicated to the Italian designer Ettore Sottsass. Curated by Alex Gartenfeld and Stephanie Moreno, the show features over 50 objects, furniture, and ceramics, plus 53 photographic works including the Metafore series. The exhibition examines Sottsass's practice within the socioeconomic contexts of post-war Italy, the social upheavals of the 1960s–70s, and the early 2000s. It begins with 1960s projects like the Superboxes, moves to 1980s works for Studio Alchimia and Memphis, and concludes with furniture from the 1990s until his death in 2007. The installation is designed by architect Frida Escobedo, who created the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion. Sottsass (1917–2007), a painter, sculptor, and architect, is considered the father of Italian design. He won the Compasso d'Oro three times (1959, 1970, 1989), co-designed the Valentine typewriter with Perry King (1969), and founded the Memphis group in 1981 with Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, Andrea Branzi, and Michele de Lucchi. His iconic works include the Carlton bookcase (1981), Ashoka and Tahiti lamps (1981), and Tartar desk (1985). The centenary of his birth and tenth anniversary of his death in 2017 were marked by global exhibitions at the Vitra Design Museum, MET Breuer, Triennale di Milano, and Fondazione Cini. The show runs through October 6, 2019.