Memphis: Plastic Field at MK Gallery

The Memphis design collective and its output between 1980 and 1987 (a series of often colourful postmodern furniture and design) is pretty far removed from modernism (some considered it to be a reaction to the by then stale modern movement) but I’ve always been intrigued and seduced by its bizarre aesthetic that I’ve long associated with 1980s music videos and the homes of evil rich people in Hollywood films.

Drawing from influences as diverse as India, Africa, California, gas stations, movies, music and art, Memphis design and architecture was intended to look artificial, playful and a bit uncanny.

I attended a very comprehensive Memphis exhibition at the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes all the way back in 2021 (when some of the Covid restrictions had been lifted), which showcased the best of the movement’s pieces including Masanori Umeda’s Tawaraya (a boxing-ring-shaped bed), Michael Graves’ Plaza dressing table and stool (resembling a space ship made out of children’s wooden building blocks) and Ettore Sottsass’ Carlton room divider/extremely non-functional bookcase.

One room was dedicated to a screening of the scene set in Danny DeVito and Bette Midler’s Memphis-adorned house in the 1986 film Ruthless People.

Despite the fact that everything looked like it was mass produced out of colourful MDF, all Memphis pieces were individually crafted by Italian workshops and were very much intended to be sold as luxury items (both David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld were fans). They are now hugely collectible fetching huge sums (ranging from around £5,000 – 40,000 per piece) when they go up for auction.

Brockley House

I more recently visited Brockley House as part of Open House 2024 in London.

Brockley House was a colourful (and Memphis-inspired) renovation of an end-of-terrace 1930s house in Lewisham. The design, conceptualised by architects Office S&M drew inspiration from cakes, American diners, digital art and of course, Memphis.

Over the course of an 8 month renovation project, Office S&M reconfigured the original 1930s layout into an open plan living space incorporating a candy hued cartoon-like kitchen and striking curved wall in keeping with the original 1930s architecture.

The exterior of the house was painted various shades of lilac offset by brightly colored drainage pipes, chequerboard-patterned tiles and a sculpted porch at the front with a striking pink hood supported by yellow columns.

The owners said that while there was some scepticism from passers-by when the build started (as the house sits on a corner plot on a busy junction, it certainly stands out) but neighbours have been positive about the eye-catching design.