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Icons in Dialogue: Andy Warhol and Ettore Sottsass at Galerie Mitterrand

Icons in Dialogue: Andy Warhol and Ettore Sottsass at Galerie Mitterrand March 6, 2026Art Events, ParisOff

When Design Meets Pop Art: Sottsass and Warhol Reunited in Paris

In the mid-1960s, design and art were undergoing a quiet revolution. Furniture was no longer simply functional, and images were no longer mere decoration. Objects began to carry meaning, symbolism, and cultural commentary.

Now, nearly sixty years later, Galerie Mitterrand in Paris revisits this fascinating moment with the exhibition “Centro Fly Milano 1966: Ettore Sottsass & Andy Warhol.” The show reimagines an experimental concept originally created by Ettore Sottsass in Milan in 1966, where his radical furniture designs were presented in dialogue with the paintings of Andy Warhol.

Furniture as Presence

At the heart of the exhibition are pieces from Sottsass’ Mobili Fly collection, a series of furniture that challenged the traditional role of design.

Rather than discreetly blending into domestic interiors, these objects assert themselves as visual presences. With their almost totemic forms and striking frontal compositions, the furniture appears somewhere between sculpture and architecture.

Sottsass imagined design not simply as utility but as a language capable of shaping perception and behavior. A cabinet or chest of drawers could become a symbolic object, capable of transforming the emotional atmosphere of a room.

The iconic Bastonio chest of drawers, created around 1965, perfectly embodies this idea. Its rhythmic structure and sculptural silhouette blur the line between furniture and artwork.

Warhol’s Images as Icons

Facing Sottsass’ designs are works by Andy Warhol, whose images became some of the most recognizable icons of the 20th century.

The exhibition presents several key works from the early 1960s, including the celebrated Flowers series and portraits such as Jackie, depicting Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, as well as Warhol’s famous Liz Taylor image.

Warhol’s art operates through repetition, bold color, and the transformation of media imagery into powerful symbols. By isolating and multiplying images drawn from politics, celebrity culture, and the art world, he created a visual language that questioned fame, power, and identity.

A Dialogue of Forms and Images

What makes the exhibition particularly compelling is the dialogue it creates between these two seemingly different artistic approaches.

Like Warhol’s portraits, Sottsass’ furniture refuses to disappear into the background. Both artists sought to elevate everyday objects and images into cultural signs.

Warhol transformed media photographs into icons. Sottsass transformed domestic furniture into sculptural presences.

Together, they reveal a moment in the 1960s when art and design shared a common ambition: to reshape how we see the world around us.

Revisiting a Radical Moment

The Paris exhibition runs from February 12 to May 9, 2026, at Galerie Mitterrand, 95 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, bringing this historical dialogue back to life for a contemporary audience.

More than a retrospective, the exhibition reminds us that the boundaries between art, design, and everyday life have always been fluid.

And sometimes, the most radical ideas begin with a simple object placed in a room.

Discover more at
www.mitterrand.com