Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), Italy
Location: Great Chamber
A seminal figure in 20th-century design, the Italian architect and designer Ettore
Sottsass (1917–2007) created a vast body of work during his six-decade career,
including works in polychromatic glass that stage a radical intervention into this
quintessentially Italian craft.
Though he had great respect for traditional glass-blowing, Sottsass departed from its
usual methods in surprising ways. He used adhesives and wire to put his pieces
together, and introduced striking angles.
Michael Anastassiades (b. 1967), UK
Location: Library
Michael Anastassiades is a London-based designer, known for his lithe yet
commanding lighting structures. It was during his childhood spent on the island of
Cyprus that he first fell in love with light – ever present in that part of the world – and
with ancient cultures.
His installation of light in the Library illuminates the room in depth. It is an indoor
grove of bamboo, the stems carefully hand-finished according to a traditional
Japanese method. The bases are made of poured pewter, pooled around the
bamboo to form fitted stands. Illuminated bulbs are attached with waxed linen thread.
Samuel Ross (b. 1991), UK
Location: Sculpture Gallery
The purpose-built 19th-century Sculpture Gallery at Chatsworth contains two
important reclining sculptures: Filippo Albacini’s ‘Achilles’ (1825) and Antonio
Canova’s ‘Endymion’ (1819 – 22). British artist, designer and multidisciplinary
creative director Samuel Ross responds to these lively-seeming but inert bodies,
with works in stone and steel; their forms invite us to imagine the body that would
recline on them.
They are made partly of marble, like the classical sculptures around them, and partly
of steel, powder-coated in bright orange, which reflects Ross’ interest in modernism
and results in a hybrid style that is vividly new.
