Dezeen Magazine

Watch our talk with Deyan Sudjic and Adam Nathaniel Furman about the impact of Memphis

Dezeen hosted a panel discussion with Sonos on the impact of the Memphis movement, and its lasting influence on art and design.

On the panel was Deyan Sudjic, the director of London's Design Museum and British designer Adam Nathaniel Furman, who recently designed a series of Memphis-inspired archways during London Design Festival.

The Memphis movement was formed in 1980 after designers Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, Michael Graves and Nathalie Du Pasquier amongst others debuted pieces at the Salone del Mobile in Milan the following year. As a reaction against the functional aesthetics of modernism, the designs of the Memphis group often featured geometric shapes and bright colours.

The movement attracted several notable collectors including late musician David Bowie whose collection of over 100 pieces went on auction last year at Sotheby's.

Memphis has enjoyed a recent resurgence and has had a significant impact on contemporary designers such as Camille Walala, who designed a listening room in the London showroom of speaker manufacturer Sonos.

As part of the launch of the store, Sonos put on an exhibition with the David Bowie Estate of rare images taken by photographers such as Mick Rock and Brian Duffy.

This was the first event in a series of talks hosted by Sonos at their newly opened Covent Garden store and showroom.