Ingo Maurer’s Zettel’z hanging lamp, a defining work of contemporary design, was a featured highlight in MoMA’s upcoming exhibition “Pirouette: Turning Points in Design” in January 2025. Paola Antonelli, MoMA’s senior curator of the department of architecture and design and director of research and development, refers to Ingo as a “titan of design.” “Zettel’z represents him in all his rebelliousness, humor, and generosity,” she says. “Zettel means ‘note’ in German, and indeed the lamp comes with dozens of sheets of fine Japanese paper. Some are filled in, and others are ready for the new owner’s own creative initiative—favorite quotes, friends’ messages, sketches, or more—which are clipped in to form a unique and personal cloud. As often with Ingo’s work, the design process never ends to surprise.”
A version of this article originally appeared in “Curator’s Icons” in Sixtysix Issue 13.
