Celebrating Ceramics: Ettore Sottsass 

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) built a career with interior design and industrial design since 1947. Sottsass was an important innovator—his designs for home furnishings, office equipment, furniture and home accessories greatly influenced the avant-garde design of the sixties and seventies. In 1981 he was co-founder of the renowned Memphis group. In addition to his work for Memphis, Sottsass was also active as a designer for Alessi, Artemide and Olivetti.

During Sottsass' long career, ceramics was an ever-increasing fascination. His unique vision of design is the strongest expression in ceramics designs, from his first vases in the mid-fifties to his last sketches just before his death. Sottsass approached all utilities, especially those in ceramics, as ritual instruments, meaningful tools for everyday existence. 

The Stedelijk Museum's-Hertogenbosch has a long history with Ettore Sottsass. In 1984, Het Kruithuis, the forerunner of the current museum, organized the first Memphis exhibition in The Netherlands. In 1995, in close collaboration with Sottsass, the first exhibition was dedicated exclusively to its ceramics. Since then, his work has been regularly seen in the museum. His ceramic design is widely represented in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch.

Enter a caption (optional)