Today We Visit the Exhibition
Date：2022.07.15
Memphis Style, Previous and Present
The H·P·S team paid a visit to the design exhibition, which featured the theme of "Memphis Style, Previous
and Present", co-organized by the Sea World Cultural Arts Center (SWCAC) and YASPACE.
The exhibition consists of four chapters, namely "Prequel: Starting from Bauhaus", "Biography: Bad Taste
Group", "Follow-up: What Happens after Memphis", and "Special Episode: Aldo Cibic – Witness to Memphis".
"Starting from Bauhaus" presents the "past and present lives" of the Memphis Group in the realm of modern and
contemporary design. By presenting the works of the Memphis Group, one of the most important design
organizations in the 20th century, the exhibition helps visitors understand how postmodernist design made its
presence in the international arena. Apart from influencing designers of diverse backgrounds and artistic
schools generation after generation, the works of the Memphis Group also fueled the cultural trend of the
1980s, leaving behind a rebellious, trailblazing legacy in the history of design.
"Greene Street Chair" – Gaetano Pesce
It is a black resin chair decorated with random red brushes, which is made of resin, rubber, and steel,
and named after a street where the designer once lived.
"Superrari" – Martine Bedin
It looks like a toy car, and you cannot help but have the overwhelming desire to pull it along. It
exemplifies the warmth, fun, and childlike innocence of the Memphis style.
"GJS11" – George Sowden
This pair of rugs is contrived by a Memphis group couple. It features black and white linear patterns on
the wool rug and puts a classic spin on visual language.
"Bagatelle" – Dan Friedman
Dan Friedman is an American graphic and furniture designer, whose works pose a fundamental challenge to
the tradition and commercialization tendencies of the design industry.
Origins of the Memphis Style
In 1981, post-modernist designer Ettore Sottsass convened a group of like-minded designers in Milan,
Italy, birthing the "Memphis Group".
The Memphis Group emerged to battle against the monotony and rigidity of modernism. In addition to the
bold Pop-style color palette, they also paid meticulous attention to the use of geometric elements and
patterning, striving to strike a balance between art deco and design function and highlighting
handicraft creation.
Inspired by the Memphis exhibition, we create the following print patterns.
