The first catalogue raisonné of Ettore Sottsass’s enamels

The life of Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), architect and designer, has been widely studied and published but few are aware of his earlier work from the 1950s, to which these enamel tondos and vases belong. This is a body of work largely unknown and unpublished conceived for the opening of the Il Sestante gallery in Milan, December 1958.

Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari tracked down all the pieces that were originally in that exhibition and the ones produced later in a small number by the gallery. This material, together with the original drawings from the CSAC archives of the University of Parma, make up the catalogue raisonné of Ettore Sottsass’s enamels.

A text by Arturo Carlo Quintavalle introduces the reader to an original understanding of the earlier Sottsass work, the first and fundamental chapter of the designer’s life that would then develop into the worldwide recognized “Memphis” movement. Lisa Ponti, daughter of Gio, vividly describes the presence and collaboration of Sottsass in the offices of Domus magazine in the 1950s.

Fulvio and Napoleone Ferrari, renowned for their work on Carlo Mollino and for having founded the Museo Casa Mollino in Turin, have worked on Italian modern decorative arts since the 1980s. Among their publications are: the furniture of Gabetti & Isola; a discotheque by Casati and Ponzio; the ceramics of Sottsass; Italian lighting of the 1960s, and several books on Carlo Mollino.