La Societa' del Pianeta
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Sottsass’s Ruins collection for Design Gallery Milan captures a poignant moment in his late career. We find him introspective and questioning his impact. Does it all come to ruins? The bed is the pinnacle of his many "small architectures" and tower like totemic forms. In this romantic piece, Sottsass echoes several ruins of time. The headboard evokes a medieval tower with a lookout for a love-starved Rapunzel. The footboard is a sensuous scroll of fine pearwood, a contemporary twist that alludes to Gio Ponti’s neoclassical furnishings as well as the fulcra of a triclinium, a lounge chair used by ancient Romans. Sottsass may have doubted his ability to connect the logic of his designs, but the depth of his references to the ancient, the medieval, and the modern are as clear as day.
Artwork Details
- Title: La Societa' del Pianeta
- Artist: Ettore Sottsass (Italian (born Austria), Innsbruck 1917–2007 Milan)
- Date: 1992
- Medium: Pear wood, laminate, halogen light
- Dimensions: 8 ft. 3 1/2 in. × 35 1/4 in. × 87 in. (252.7 × 89.5 × 221 cm)
- Classification: Furniture
- Credit Line: Private Collection
- Rights and Reproduction: Studio Ettore Sottsass Srl
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art