Tartar Table
Ettore Sottsass was a seminal figure in 20th century design, evolving over the course of his career from modernism to postmodernism. In his early career, he took a functionalist and rationalist approach to design. By the 1960s, however, he began to look beyond function to create objects imbued with symbolism, emotional appeal, and global and historical references. The Tartar Table reflects a focus on complex geometric forms, patterns, and colors, which characterizes Sottsass's work for Memphis, the collective he established in the 1980s. The table encapsulates the qualities that defined Memphis: unconventional and innovative new forms that challenged the design status quo; an emphasis on the ephemeral quality of design as media images in circulation; a cheeky interplay between low-cost materials and high-quality production; and a return to the primacy of the designer’s ideas as the main driver for production/consumption.
Artwork Details
- Title: Tartar Table
- Designer: Ettore Sottsass (Italian (born Austria), Innsbruck 1917–2007 Milan)
- Manufacturer: Memphis Milano
- Date: 1985
- Medium: Reconstituted wood veneer, plastic laminate (HPL print laminate), lacquer, plywood
- Dimensions: 30 1/4 × 76 × 32 5/16 in., 180 lb. (76.8 × 193 × 82 cm, 81.6 kg)
- Classification: Furniture
- Credit Line: Gift of Daniel Wolf, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.167.7
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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