Marco Bruzzone is presenting solo exhibition Mosse & Mossette (Study for a Set of Emojis after E.Sottsass’ Bacterio) at Berlin’s Gillmeier Rech, opening March 11 and running to April 16.
There is little information about the event aside from its title that alludes to Memphis Group founder Ettore Sottsass Jr.‘s ‘Carlton’ (1981) room divider which shows his by now ubiquitous 1978 ‘Bacterio’ ornamentation for the first time. Said design also appears in a small cluster on a public sign in Bruzzone’s ‘Neris (LT)’ (2015) image provided with the text, presumably taken on the bank of the title-river that runs through Lithuania and Belarus.
Described by the Vitra Design Museum website as a symbol of “meaningful symbolism and rampant consumerism”, ‘Carlton’ is perhaps an ideal starting point for exploring the contemporary pictograph, which began in the emoticons of digital folklore and ended in serving the corporate interests of the emoji. That’s much in the same way that the experiment that was Memphis became a commercial success in the 80s.
See the Gillmeier Rech website for (limited) details.**
