“I blanked out the past, ignored mathematical logic and the principles of design. I decided to investigate the barest elements of my existence, where all that remains are nerve endings and sensory perception.”
—Ettore SottsassEttore Sottsass’ “Carlton” room divider, unveiled in 1981 as part of the groundbreaking Memphis Group’s debut exhibition, stands as a vivid emblem of postmodern design. With its strikingly asymmetrical yet balanced form, composed of colorful plastic-laminate covered blocks stacked at implausible angles, the “Carlton” room divider challenges the ideals of practicality and elegance by merging seemingly clashing elements into a playful, sculptural object. This piece encapsulates Sottsass’ philosophy of design as an exploration of pleasure and sensory experience, rejecting the austerity of European modernism. Rather than aspiring to timelessness, the model embodies the Memphis Group’s embrace of the fleeting and the temporarily fashionable, reveling in the joy of the unexpected and the exuberance of visual and conceptual rebellion.
Ettore Sottsass, Drawing for the "Carlton" room divider, 1981. Artwork: © erede Ettore Sottsass / Artists Rights Society, New York, 2024. The September 1981 Memphis exhibition marked a rupture in the design world. The members of the Memphis Group made clear their rejection of Modernist values and their derision of “good taste,” choosing, instead, to boldly embrace irreverence, irregularity, and eclecticism. Sottsass once explained that “[Memphis] is dedicated to life, not to eternity.” Rather than live by the strictures of high-minded Modernism, the Memphis designers embraced the indulgence of kitsch.
Provenance
Ryan Brant, Palm Peach
Sotheby's, New York, "Important Design," December 12, 2019, lot 332
Acquired from the above by the present ownerLiterature
Memphis Milano, sales catalogue, Milan, 1986, p. 3
Barbara Radice, Ettore Sottsass: A Critical Biography, London, 1993, p. 199
"Progetti," Domus, no. 781, April 1996, p. 53
Ronald T. Labaco, Ettore Sottsass: Architect and Designer, exh. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, London, 2006, p. 12
Philippe Thomé, Ettore Sottsass, Berlin, 2022, p. 303
Property from a Long Island Collection
177
“Carlton” room divider
designed 1981
Plastic-laminate covered wood.
76 3/4 x 74 5/8 x 14 1/2 in. (194.9 x 189.5 x 36.8 cm)
Manufactured by Memphis, Milan, Italy. Base with metal plaque printed MEMPHIS/MILANO/ETTORE SOTTSASS 1981/N. 633/MADE IN ITALY and with decal sticker printed MEMPHIS SRL SIGILLO DI AUTENTICITA 2/03098-15.
Estimate
$6,000 - 8,000
Sold for $10,160
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist, Head of Sale, New York
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 212 940 1267
Design
New York Auction 11 December 2024
126
This lot is no longer available.
203
This lot is no longer available.
