Postmodern wall clock by Natalie du Pasquier and George Sowden for Neos, made in Italy in 1988.

Pop colors in blue, yellow, light orange, black and white. Numbers around the face are omitted and replaced with graphic black squares over a swirling pattern of orange outlined in white, and cloud like patches of graphic black dots. Yellow second hand puts a large circle at the clock's centre with thick, bright blue minute and hour hands. This is one of the most playful, colorful post-modern designs by du Pasquier and Sowden in the Memphis style, and reflects that strong aspect of Italian design.

YEAR: 1980s
COUNTRY: Italy
DIMENSIONS: H 1.5in x Dm 9.25in, H 3.81cm x Dm 23.5cm
AVAILABLE: 1
MANUFACTURER: Neos by Lorenz
DESIGNER: Nathalie du Pasquier
MATERIAL: Plastic, Glass, Metal
CONDITION: Excellent
COLOR: Yellow, Blue, Pink, Black, White
PRODUCTION: Out of production

 

NATHALIE DU PASQUIER is a painter and designer. She was born in Bordeaux, France in 1957 and has lived in Milan since 1979 where she met the designer George Sowden. Two years after moving to Milan, she met Ettore Sottsass who invited her and Sowden to become founding members of the Memphis Group. Her iconic patterns for Memphis are today the group's most recognizable designs. They have become a widely recognized aspect of the Memphis brand and defined the esthetic of the 1980s in general.
In 1987, she dedicated herself to painting after designing furniture and objects. Over the past 10 years her fine art career has had strong recognition and her iconic Memphis work has been re-edited by brands like American Apparel and the Conran Shop, entering the lives of new generations and showing how relevant her early work is today.

 

GEORGE J. SOWDEN is an architect and designer. He was born in Leeds, UK in 1942. After studying architecture at the Gloucester college of art he moved to Milan in 1970 where he founded his own design and product development studio in 1979. He met Ettore Sottsass while working as a design consultant for Olivetti. Sottsass invited Sowden and his wife Nathalie Du Pasquier to co-found the Memphis Group in 1981. Their contributions to the New Design are now the most emblematic of the movement that changed design and pop culture.
After the Memphis Group disbanded in 1988, Sowden collaborated with world-famous companies like Olivetti, Alessi, Bodum, Guzzini, Lorenz, Rancilio, Steelcase, Swatch, Segis, Memphis, IPM, Moulinex, Telecom Italia, Tefal and Pyrex. Today SOWDEN is his eponymous brand that offers a collection of innovative products for the 21st century.