Ultrafragola Floor Mirror by Ettore Sottsass for Paltronova, Ready to Ship
View Similar Items
Ultrafragola Floor Mirror by Ettore Sottsass for Paltronova, Ready to Ship
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 76 in (193.04 cm)Width: 40 in (101.6 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2021
- Condition:New. Only out of the crate for photos.
- Seller Location:Kansas City, MO
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1057024032802
Ultrafragola Mirror
Most mirrors are meant to be looked in, but some are meant to be looked at. The Ultrafragola mirror by Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) is a classic example of the latter: It is hard to look away from its soft neon glow and sensuous curves, which resemble flowing wavy hair.
As part of Sottsass’s “I Mobile Grigi” series for the third edition of the Eurodomus trade show, the Ultrafragola, which translates to “ultra strawberry” in Italian, was designed in 1970. It was a precursor to his best-known accomplishment: the 1981 founding of his design collective the Memphis Group (Milan, not Tennessee), which embraced Pop art and exhibited a flashy unorthodox sensibility. The Ultrafragola embodies many of Memphis’s postmodern ideals. With its cheap plastic shell — made of vacuum-formed opaline acrylic — this playful and flamboyant piece challenged modernist design’s clean lines and austere shapes at the time.
Despite the Memphis Group’s spirited start, with its members experimenting radically with furniture, jewelry and more, it had a short life span. In 1985, Sottsass refused to be defined by a single design movement, so he left the group, which formally dissolved two years later. However, Italy’s Poltronova still manufactures the Ultrafragola mirror today. And it’s seeing a revival thanks to its made-for-social-media aesthetic and growing favor among celebrities and contemporary interior designers. Indeed, the Memphis style is having a beautiful, bold, neon-colored comeback.
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.
- Eastside Sofa by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, 1980s, All Original, Ready to UseBy Ettore Sottsass, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MOEastside Sofa by Ettore Sottsass and manufactured by Knoll, 1980s. Original black leather and gray and black patterned fabric. Aluminum and steel base co...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Sofas
MaterialsLeather, Upholstery
- Ettore Sottsass Umbrella Stand for Rinovel, 1955By Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MORare Ettore Sottsass umbrella stand for Rinovel, Italy, 1955. Quick shipping in the continental U.S. via FedEx, $175.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Umbrella Stands
MaterialsAluminum
- Ettore Sottsass Floor Vases from 27 Woods for a Chinese Artificial Flower, PairBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Kansas City, MOTwo large vases made of burl wood, black and brass designed by Ettore Sottsass for his "27 woods for a Chinese Artificial flower" series. Each of the 27 different vases were made in an edition of 12. These are Numbers 3 and 9 of the twelve "I" editions. Each is signed with applied manufacturers label, "Design Gallery, Milano, Ettore Sottsass, 1995, Made in Italy" with the edition number. Price is for the pair. Condition: Both are in very good vintage condition. No chips, dents or significant scratches. Both retain the original heavy brass vase insert...Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Vases
MaterialsBrass
- Ashoka Large Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in Kansas City, MOAshoka lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Milano, 1981. Excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Barbarella Writing Desk / Secretary by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, 1966/1985By Ettore Sottsass, PoltronovaLocated in Kansas City, MOEttore Sottsass Barbarella cabinet for Poltronova, Italy. Designed in 1966, produced in 1985. The cabinet features three drawers over a drop-front ...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Secretaires
MaterialsBrass
- Set of Six Mandarin Dining Chairs by Ettore Sottsass for KnollBy Ettore Sottsass, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MOSet of six dining chairs designed by Ettore Sottsass, the founder of the Memphis Group, Milan, Italy. These chairs are in very good completely original condition. Super sturdy constr...Category
Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Original LED Ultrafragola Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for PoltronovaBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Berlin, BerlinUltrafragola mirror, designed by Ettore Sottsass in the 1970s. Original recent production mirror using LED lighting, made of moulded fibreglass with hard-back and shaped mirror. The...Category
2010s Italian Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Plastic
- Ettore Sottsass Illuminated Floor Mirror UltrafragolaBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBMirror / lighting "Ultrafragola" was designed in 1970s by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, in vacuum-formed opaline acrylic. Ultrafragola, with its sinuous shape, evocative of a wavy female hair, belongs to the series of Grey Furniture...Category
2010s Italian Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
MaterialsPlastic
$11,031 Sale Price30% Off - Ettore Sottsass Ultrafragola Mirror for Poltronova SrlBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Brooklyn, NYUltrafragola mirror (from Mobile Grigi series of designs.) Ettore Sottsass (Italian.) Original design: 1970, production 2019 Opaline plastic, mirror, pink LED...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
MaterialsMirror, Acrylic
- Ultrafragola Mirror / Lamp by Ettore Sottsass, PoltronovaBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Brussels, BEUltrafragola mirror / lamp by Ettore Sottsass, Poltronova. Sold with original box and certificate of authenticity.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Floor Mirrors and Full-Leng...
MaterialsPlastic
- Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the neon tubes within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror!Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,790 Sale Price / item30% Off - Pink ‘Ultrafragola’ Mirror Designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova, ItalyBy Ettore SottsassLocated in London, GBThe curvaceous pink ‘Ultrafragola’ mirror designed by Ettore Sottsass is probably the most iconic of all his many designs. Originally produced in the 1970s by Poltronova, the ‘Ultrafragola’ formed part of a series of Sottsass designs named Mobili Grigi. When illuminated, the lights within the mirror transform the white opaline acrylic shell into a stunning multi-pink display. This unique, individually numbered, re-edition piece is still produced by the same Florentine company today and is sold with a “Certificate of Authenticity”. The perfectly pink ‘selfie’ mirror...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Mirrors a...
MaterialsGlass, Acrylic
$7,790 Sale Price / item30% Off