REBEL WITH A CAUSE
Documenting the life and work of the late Ettore Sottsass, the legendary Austro-Italian designer who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this month, the Frank Gehry-designed Vitra Design Museum digs deep into its archives to bring together an exhibition that “pays tribute to an extraordinary designer who viewed design as an opportunity to explore the nature of human existence”. Best remembered as the leading figure of 1980s design collective Memphis and his poetic minimalist sculptural designs, Sottsass rebelled against functionalist design approaches and breathed new life into expressive designs such as the Carlton bookcase and the Ashoka lamp from 1981, as well as the Tartar console table in 1985. Also on display at ‘Ettore Sottsass – Rebel and Poet’ are Sottsass’s literary texts, as well as photographs from the ‘Metafore’ series to further provoke thoughts. Until September 24 at Vitra Design Museum, Germany. www.design-museum.de/en