Modern Design 
12 October 2010
Modern Design 
179

George Sowden

Heisenberg clock from Objects for the Electronic Age

Arc 74
Italy, 1983
enameled steel, birch, acrylic 13½ h × 10½ w × 2½ d in (34 × 27 × 6 cm)
estimate: $1,000–1,500
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Signed with decal studio label to reverse: [Objects for the Electronic Age Milano 1983 George J. Sowden].
literature: Objects for the Electronic Age, Arc 74 manufacturer's catalog, unpaginated

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George Sowden b. 1942

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As the only British member of the Memphis group, George Sowden made a name for himself with his structural, colorful and humor-inflected designs and illustrations. Born in Leeds, United Kingdom in 1942, Sowden studied architecture at the Gloucestershire College of Art, graduating in 1968, and moved to Milan in 1970 to work for Sottsass Associati and Olivetti. In Milan, he met his to-be wife, artist and designer Nathalie du Pasquier, who would join Memphis along with Sowden in 1981. That same year, he established his own firm, SowdenDesign, developing products for the likes of Olivetti, Swid Powell, Alessi, Swatch and Pyrex, among others. His diverse designs range from consumer electronics and appliances to wallpaper and textiles. In 1991 he received the Compasso d’Oro Award and established his own name brand, SOWDEN in 2010 to continue designing objects of integrity in his striking and tactile postmodern style.

Auction Results George Sowden

George Sowden

d'Antibes cabinet

estimate: $3,000–5,000

result: $8,438

George Sowden

Oppenheimer table clock from Objects for the Electronic Age

estimate: $2,000–3,000

result: $5,250

George Sowden

d'Antibes cabinet

estimate: $4,000–6,000

result: $3,780

George Sowden

Metropole clock

estimate: $2,000–3,000

result: $3,750

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