Rocchetto or Reel
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Sottsass began designing ceramics in 1956 at the request of Irving Richards for his New York imports company, Raymor. Richards connected Sottsass to the art director of Bitossi, Aldo Londi, who introduced Sottsass to the intricacies of the medium. Ceramics soon become a lifelong obsession. While Sottsass’s initial vases were not a commercial success, they allowed him to experiment with color and design. These pieces, from his series Reels and Isolators, are examples of his early interest in archetypal forms. They demonstrate the continued influence of Austrian and German geometric abstraction on his work.
Artwork Details
- Title: Rocchetto or Reel
- Artist: Ettore Sottsass (Italian (born Austria), Innsbruck 1917–2007 Milan)
- Manufacturer: Bitossi, Montelupo Fiorentino (Italian)
- Medium: Ceramic
- Dimensions: 14 9/16 × 4 15/16 in. (37 × 12.5 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Collection of Rob Beyer
- Rights and Reproduction: Studio Ettore Sottsass Srl
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art