Viva l’Italia!

Italian 1960s och 70s design
The Italian design boom dominated during 1960s and 70s and was characterized by new modern materials and an optimistic belief in the future where technique made it possible to place a man all the way on the moon. The Italian designers Ettore Sottsass, Joe Colombo and Anna Castelli Ferrieri created colorful furniture and objects for Kartell, Danese and Artemide – mainly in new materials such as plastic and polyester and in shapes which belonged in an high-technology space age. Italian designers were trendsetters in lightning and furniture design, which also trickled down to the culture scene – movies such as Barbarella and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 showed fantastic interiors in white and silver with softly, rounded plastics furniture, such as Eero Arnios ”Thunderball” and Vice Magsitretti’s futuristic lamps. This theme auction includes designers from this ground-breaking period.