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Mobile Giallo

Ettore Sottsass Italian, born Austria
1988–89
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Cross-shaped and studded with golden dots, Yellow Furniture reads as an homage to Otto Wagner’s Steinhof Church, which is also cruciform in plan and features golden dots as the leitmotif. Both Yellow Furniture and the Steinhof Church transfer religious concepts into material form, specifically the spiritual association in Christian iconography of gold as a material and symbol of the heavens. Consistent with Christian ideals, Sottsass intended this piece for production by Indian craftsmen as a way of addressing the poverty he witnessed during his travels.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mobile Giallo
  • Artist: Ettore Sottsass (Italian (born Austria), Innsbruck 1917–2007 Milan)
  • Date: 1988–89
  • Medium: Burled maple, briar, ebonized oak veneer, gilded wood knobs
  • Dimensions: 57 1/2 × 51 7/8 × 18 1/8 in. (146.1 × 131.8 × 46 cm)
  • Classification: Furniture
  • Credit Line: Private Collection
  • Rights and Reproduction: Studio Ettore Sottsass Srl
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art