I’ve always been fascinated by the 80’s Memphis design and architecture group founded by Ettore Sottsass in 1981. The name was taken from a Bob Dylan song “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” and was inspired by Art Deco, Pop Art and 50’s futuristic design. The group fabricated and exhibited furniture and objects annually from 1981 until 1988 and their debut at the Salone del Mobile in Milan drew great acclaim. The stellar group that Sottsass assembled were designers and architects Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, Michele de Lucchi, Nathalie du Pasquier, Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, , Arata Isozaki, Shiro Kuramata, Matteo Thun, Javier Mariscal, journalist Barbara Radice and continuing the movement today Alberto Biagetti.
1984 Memphis group poster for exhibition
Alberto Biagetti was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy in 1971 and now lives and works in Milan. He opened his Atelier in 2003 with the idea of creating an aesthetic factory that deals with fashion, art, design and architecture without distinction, creating a bridge between established forms of expression and new digital ones. His work is the result of multiple inventions that end up being furniture objects, interiors, paintings, virtual dresses and installations in galleries and private collections. Biagetti connects the real and virtual world, from excellent artisanship (collections designed for Venini) to the art direction of some of the most important websites (Yoox.com). In addition he has worked with the Memphis – Post Design, DeVecchi and Zerodisegno. His works have been exhibited in galleries including the Maraconi Gallery, Hangar Bicocca, Cartiere Vannucci and together with Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea. In 2011, he presented a collection of unique pieces called “Diamonds” for the exhibit Mineralogy.
Treasure chest hand painted with acrylics. electronic opening device with wooden key from diamonds collection 2011
Post Design is the brand name under which Memphis S.r.l produces its new collections. Post Design showcased Sottsass’ most recent works and the collections of international designers such as Johanna Grawunder, Pierre Charpin, Denis Santachiara, Nathalie Du Pasquier, George J. Sowden, Nanda Vigo, Alessandro Mendini and Ron Arad. Post Design is also the name of the Milanese gallery that exhibits Memphis’ productions and following are highlights and descriptions of Alberto Biagetti’s beautifully crafted 2012 works.
The sky group features digital print sky as seen from above the studio in Milan with opaque brass bases and ultra white low iron glass
Sky piece detail showing high gloss red lacquer interior
The wire seat with varnished iron base, covered with natural leather and varnish colour gradation. Available in three colour combinations
Things you need to know about Alberto Biagetti Text by Angela Rui
“In the same way nature and its purest elements are contemplated as raw materials through which the design is developed. Fundamental and inevitable as the form, earth and sky, rivers and territories (Post Design 2012), traces of the purest pigments remain on the furniture (The River Armchair) and their eloquent surfaces.
A “light” presence not because they are as light as a feather, but because they are like paintings that create their own space. Others are ethereal and act as a tool for the imagination: the Sky, photographed above his studio in Milan, enters shyly as a mark and décor upon the furniture’s surfaces (The Sky Pieces). And imagining a downward trajectory, the carpets (The Grounds) hand knotted and made in Kathmandu, photograph portions of territories as if seen from a satellite.”
The river group sofa, armchairs and ottoman made of memory-foam with leather covering and varnish colour gradation.
The ground carpet the sky cabinet and the river armchair
The Ground carpet, The Sky cabinet and The River armchair
The wire table with opaque brass base and wood top, sandwich panel made of multilayered canadian pine wood
Alberto Biagetti
Thank you to Alberto Biagetti and his Senior Assistant Iris Roth for sharing these images with The Gilded Owl. For more information visit