Onion Bowl – / Ceramic – By Nathalie Du Pasquier, 1985 – Memphis Milano

The “Memphis Milano” catalogue includes icons designed by the famous Memphis collective between 1981 and 1988. True works of art, these collector’s items revolutionised the creative and commercial logic of design in the 80s.   Founded in Milan in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, the Memphis group brought together international architects and designers such as Michele De Lucchi, Matteo Thun, Martine Bedin, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Shiro Kuramata, George J. Sowden… A true cultural phenomenon, Memphis really shook up the design codes by voluntarily stepping outside of the lines of “good taste” of the time. It was out with the pure, hard functionalism and austerity Bauhaus-style, and in came fantasy with colourful and eccentric creations. The first Memphis collection landed in the design world like a bombshell: a proliferation of exuberant patterns, explosive colours, intrepid asymmetries, geometric shapes stacked up like totems, new use of plastic laminate considered “cheap” until then… Soon, Memphis became THE subversive label of Italian design with its wacky, colourful world inspired by comics, Pop Art, cinema, Kitsch and Art Deco. It was a revolution: design, until then confined to the showrooms, invaded the media and inflamed passion.   Considered symbols of Anti-design and New Design, the Memphis creations are above all the manifestation of an unlimited creativity which breaks free of the constraints dictated by industry and the law of the market. Within the confines of design, architecture, art and post-modernism, these exceptional pieces are now sought after by collectors around the world and exhibited in the most prestigious museums.   More than 20 years after the end of the movement, the “Memphis Milano” company continues to produce around fifty hand-crafted historical pieces designed by Memphis between 1981 and 1988. These original models are collector’s items all bearing the “Memphis” seal, a guarantee of authenticity. In addition, each piece has its own paper certificate of authenticity, itself bearing the “Memphis” seal. Some models bear the designer’s signature.   The Onion fruit bowl was designed in 1985 by Nathalie Du Pasquier.This famous plastic artist is one of the founding members of the Memphis collective, created in the 1980s. During these years, she designed numerous textiles, rugs, objects and items of furniture, as well as motifs for the furniture of other designers in the group. From her travels in Africa and Asia, which she undertook at the end of the 1970s, this striking style resulted which would permeate the Memphis creations. We can immediately recognise Nathalie Du Pasquier’s style: an explosive, harmonious mix of exuberant patterns and vibrant colours. A world that evokes travel, African waxes with a quirky rockstar touch. His work bears the geometric, colourful, daring imprint of the Memphis movement.