The couch trip
Italian designer and Memphis Group cofounder Ettore Sottsass died in Milan last year on New Year's Eve, but the 90-year-old was working right up until the enda 2007 London Design Museum retrospective was even called A Work in Progress. Today some of his best stuff goes on display in NYC. Sadly the show doesn't include Sottsass' most famous piece1969's portable plastic Valentine typewriterbut it does have a sizable sample of his playful, po-mo creations. Witness his laminated wood Nefertiti desk (which bears some resemblance to Rem Koolhaas' CCTV headquarters) or his early seventies line of rarely seen Flying Carpet furniture. The latter falls on the right side of shagadelic, so you might need some really good stuff before achieving liftoff.
Friedman Benda, 515 West 26th St., NYC, (212) 239-8700, friedmanbenda.com







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