Sottsass (Bilingual edition): Poltronova 1958-1974

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was an Italian architect and designer known for his industrial and experimental designs. Winner of the prestigious Compaso de oro in 1959, the artist contributed through his work to going beyond functionalist theories after the war.

Like his father before him, Sottsass studied architecture in Turin at the Politecnico, graduating in 1939. In 1947 he moved to Milan and founded his own design studio. In 1956 at the request of the painter and sculptor Sergio Cammilli, he became the artistic director of Poltronova, a new furniture company. Sottsass then created the Poltronova’s logo and produced its first catalogues. This collaboration has a strong impact on the work of Sottsass, the catalogues constitute the support of his experimentations with geometric shapes, mixes of materials and vibrant colours.

Between innovation and social criticism, the brand becomes a true standard bearer of Italian creation and collaborates with renowned artists such as Max Ernst. From 1960 to 1970, the ten years of collaboration between the designer and Poltronova, marked a period of almost total freedom for the Sottsass. A moment both rich in creations and decisive in establishing the designer’s aesthetics that you can now discover in this book, through an analysis of Sottsass’s work, advertising photos of the time, annotated sketches and his personal photographs.