52 - Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007)

Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) Dining Table Painted steel and Sardinian granite tabletop Produced by Bieffeplast, Italy Date of creation: 1980 H74 D120 cm In 1980, a year before the founding of the Memphis Group, Ettore Sottsass designed a series of pieces for Bieffeplast, a Padua-based manufacturer specializing in metal furniture, in which one can already sense the bold style that would revolutionize design. This table combines a painted steel base with clean, geometric lines and a top made of Sardinian granite, a material that Sottsass—who was drawn to Mediterranean stones—frequently used. The contrast between the industrial color and the natural stone foreshadows the postmodern vocabulary of the years to come. A pivotal piece in the career of one of the masters of Italian design.