Angelo Lelii & Ettore Sottsass Biography
Angelo Lelii was born in 1915 in Ancona and subsequently moved to Milan, where he began his working career. After the Second World War, Lelii established himself as an authoritative designer in Italy, specializing above all in the field of modern lighting design.
In the 1950s, he began collaborating with well-known designers such as Franco Albini, Achille Castiglioni, Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass. Furthermore, he began to experiment with the use of halogen bulbs for his projects. From this experimentation, Lelii increased the use of transformers and created the unmistakable Arredoluce switch.
Ettore Sottsass, born in 1917 in Innsbruck, graduated in architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin in 1939. In 1947, he began his activity in Milan by opening a design studio, in collaboration with Giuseppe Pagano. In 1980, he founded the studio "Sottsass and associates" and the following year he created the Memphis group, together with internationally renowned architects.
Sottsass tries his hand at various artistic disciplines, particularly the visual arts. In 1988, he created the Terrazzo magazine, which was conceived and created by himself and which continued to be published until 1996. With large international exhibitions and wide notoriety, Sottsass is considered one of the most important names in the field of design and one of the greatest architects of the last century.
