Ettore Sotsass for Venini Murano Firenze Teal Glass Flush Light Fixture, 1995
View Similar Items
Ettore Sotsass for Venini Murano Firenze Teal Glass Flush Light Fixture, 1995
About the Item
- Creator:Venini (Maker),Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Diameter: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1995
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Brooklyn, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4190323162562
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
Venini
Beginning in the 1930s — and throughout the postwar years especially — Venini & Co. played a leading role in the revival of Italy’s high-end glass industry, pairing innovative modernist designers with the skilled artisans in the centuries-old glass workshops on the Venetian island of Murano. While the company’s founder, Paolo Venini (1895–1959), was himself a highly talented glassware designer, his true genius was to invite forward-thinking Italian and international designers to Murano’s hallowed workshops to create Venini pieces — among them Giò Ponti, Massimo Vignelli, Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala, Thomas Stearnsof the United States and Fulvio Bianconi.
Paolo Venini trained and practiced as a lawyer for a time, though his family had been involved with glassmaking for generations. After initially buying a share in a Venetian glass firm, he took over the company as his own in 1925, and under his direction it produced mainly classical Baroque designs. In 1932, he hired the young Carlo Scarpa— who would later distinguish himself as an architect — as his lead designer. Scarpa, working in concert with practiced glass artisans, completely modernized Venini, introducing simple, pared-down forms; bright primary colors; and bold patterns such as stripes, banding and abstract compositions that utilized cross sections of murrine (glass rods).
Paolo Venini’s best designs are thought to be his two-color Clessidre hourglasses, produced from 1957 onward, and the Fazzoletto (“handkerchief”) vase, designed with Bianconi in 1949. Bianconi’s masterworks are considered by many to be his Pezzato works — colorful vases with patterns that resemble those of a patchwork quilt. Other noteworthy and highly collectible vintage Venini works include Ponti’s dual-tone stoppered bottles (circa 1948); rare glass sculptures from the Doge series by Stearns, the first American to design for the firm; Vignelli’s striped lanterns of the 1960s; the Occhi vases with eyelet-shaped patterns by Tobia Scarpa (son of Carlo); and, with their almost zen purity, the Bolle (“bubbles”) bottles designed by Wirkkala in 1968.
With these works — and many others by some of the creative titans of the 20th and 21st century — Venini has produced one of the truly great bodies of work in modern design.
- Midcentury Murano Barovier & Toso Flowers Flush Light Fixture, Ceiling, 1950sBy Barovier&TosoLocated in Brooklyn, NYMulti-color, pink, gold, green, grey/blue. Flush fixture is made of many blossoms in precious Murano glass with gold inclusions. Gorgeous work that can be totally midcentury and vint...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsGlass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass
- Postmodern Frederick Ramond Riva Black Red Neon Flush Ceiling Light FixtureBy Fredrick RamondLocated in Brooklyn, NYGorgeous signed semi-flush mounted ceiling fixture by Frederick Ramond, 1980s, made in France. Gorgeous black and neon red/ vermillion acrylic. bulb is contained above the sandwiched...Category
Late 20th Century French Post-Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsSteel
$943 Sale Price / item34% Off - Black Triteti Flush Fixture, Ceiling or Wall, Vico Magistretti, Artemide, 1967By Artemide, Vico Magistretti, Ignazia Favata, Claudio DiniLocated in Brooklyn, NYBlack Triteti flush fixture, ceiling or wall, Vico Magistretti for Artemide, 1967. Triteti was designed by Vico Magistretti and Claudio Dini for Artemide in 1967. This iconic design ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsPlastic
- Red Triteti Flush Fixture, Ceiling or Wall, Vico Magistretti, Artemide, 1967By Artemide, Vico Magistretti, Ignazia Favata, Claudio DiniLocated in Brooklyn, NYRed Triteti flush fixture, Ceiling or Wall, Vico Magistretti for Artemide, 1967. Triteti was designed by Vico Magistretti and Claudio Dini for Artemide in 1967. This iconic design ca...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsPlastic
- Vintage Camer Venini Murano Crystal Prism Flush Mount, 1970sLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage Camer Venini Murano crystal prism flush mount, 1970s.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Flush Mount
MaterialsCrystal, Brass
- Flos Kelvin Spot Nero Black Wall Lamp, Modern Sconce Lamp, Antonio CitterioLocated in Brooklyn, NYFlos Kelvin Spot Nero black wall lamp, modern sconce lamp, Italy. The Kelvin Spot is no longer in production. It was part of the iconic Kelvin Collection K...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsAluminum, Stainless Steel
- Venini Firenze Flush Light in Crystal & Sapphire by Ettore SottsassBy Venini, Ettore SottsassLocated in Brooklyn, NYFirenze flush light in handmade blown glass with decorative elements in opaline and transparent glass and white painted metal finishes. Fun and colorful ceiling light...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsArt Glass
- Murano Glass Flush Mounts by VeniniBy VeniniLocated in Los Angeles, CAMurano glass flush mounts by Venini. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1950s. Beautiful Murano glass, allowing for a unique illumination. Rewired for U.S. standards. We r...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsMurano Glass
$3,800 / item - Murano Flush Mount by Toni Zuccheri for Venini, 2 AvailableBy Toni Zuccheri, VeniniLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian Murano flush mount or wall light with blue details / Made in Italy by Toni Zuccheri for Venini, circa 1960s Measures: width 8 inches, length 8 inches, height 5.5 inch...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsMetal
- Murano Flush Mount by Toni Zuccheri for Venini, 3 AvailableBy Toni Zuccheri, VeniniLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian Murano flush mount or wall light with blue details / Made in Italy by Toni Zuccheri for Venini, circa 1960s Measures: width 16 inches, length 16 inches, height 5 inch...Category
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsMetal
- Murano Flush Mount / Sconce by VeniniBy VeniniLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian flush mount or wall light with a single milky white Murano glass shade with brown border / Made in Italy by Venini, circa 1960s Measures: diameter 12 inches, height 5...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBlown Glass, Murano Glass
- Murano Flush Mount / Sconce by VeniniBy VeniniLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Italian flush mount or wall light with a single milky white Murano glass shade with brown border / Made in Italy by Venini, circa 1960s Original mark on the frame Measures:...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBlown Glass, Murano Glass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Dare You Not to Smile at These Whimsical Italian Designs
Make anyplace your happy place with Italian furniture at its subversive best.
How the Anglepoise Lamp Went from Desktop Companion to Hollywood Icon
Since its 1934 debut, the ingenious task light has become one of the most celebrated examples of industrial design.