Memphis Design
One evening in December 1980, Italian designer Ettore Sottsass convened an international group of young designers. This was the moment when the Memphis group came into existence. Their goal was to create exciting designs with bright colors, asymmetrical shapes and with combinations of cheap and expensive materials. Memphis gave the Groninger Museum the impetus for a new collection area: modern design. Ten years later Alessandro Mendini, who also designed for Memphis, created the building of the Groninger Museum in this style.
Memphis Design
The Memphis design collection of the Groninger Museum
In the exhibition The Collection, one room is completely filled with the cheerfully colored design of Memphis and Mendini. The poetic appearance, the bright colors, playful shapes and decorations of the furniture, glass and lamps evoke all kinds of associations. Humor and irony also play an important role in Memphis design.