Innsbruck, 1917 – Milan, 2007

Architect, designer, and photographer, founder of the famous design and architecture collective known as the “Memphis Group” and active between 1981 and 1987, Ettore Sottsass Jr. managed to express, through his style and production, the emerging ideas of Anti-design, openly criticizing the style and common taste of the era and reacting through almost total experimentation in materials, forms, and colors. His creativity and restless genius made the fortunes of many brands, particularly Olivetti, earning him very important recognitions, including three Compasso d’Oro. Many major exhibitions have been dedicated to him: in 1976, at the Cooper Hewitt in New York and the International Design Zentrum in Berlin, at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris in 1994 and 2003, at the Design Gallery Milan in 1988, 1993, and 1995, at the Suntory Museum in Ōsaka in 2000, at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Cologne in 2004, and at the MART in Rovereto in 2005. His works are preserved in the most prestigious museum institutions worldwide.

Major Awards
3 Compasso d’Oro Awards (1959, 1970, 1989)
1 IF Design Award (1994)
1 Red Dot Design Award (2007)
Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2001)
Gold Medal for Merit in Culture and Arts (2005)