Walking In Memphis

A collector’s curation of architecture, art and design is synchronised in a mountainside farmhouse in South Africa’s Overberg region, paying homage to iconic creators and Memphis Group masters

- Tracy Chemaly

Why should a table have four identical legs? Why should laminate veneer be only for the kitchen and bathroom and not for a luxurious living room?’ When Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass posed these questions in relation to the Memphis Group, a design movement he spearheaded in Milan in the 1980s, he’d already caused a stir by creating asymmetrical furniture in kaleidoscopic colours and unexpected materials. The furniture, lighting, textiles, jewellery, home- and glassware produced by this collective of designers between 1981 and 1988 followed no set rules. A multicoloured, unorthodox departure from Modernism’s more predictable, clinical aesthetic, the experimental Memphis designs popped with vibrant hues and pattern – think leopard-print Formica and colour-block craziness.

German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld took to it instantly, furnishing his entire Monte Carlo apartment with Memphis pieces, while English superstar David Bowie’s monumental Memphis collection resulted in record-breaking bids when it was auctioned by Sotheby’s after his death in 2016. But not everyone was as intrigued by the boldness of this avant-garde movement, and products were often criticised for their irreverence and seemingly pointless shapes.

Dutch-born South African resident Harry Poortman, however, felt a compelling attraction toward works produced by the Memphis Group, especially because of their risk-taking structures and tones. A former architect and designer himself, Harry’s home is replete with celebrated items from the short-lived era. ‘These designers were working at a time when everything was minimalistic,’ says the collector, ‘and they introduced a counter-design movement filled with patterns and interesting forms that I was drawn to.’