“On this occasion, I find myself in the strange situation of being both the curator and a witness of the whole story, as one of the founders of this movement.

Everything began with Sottsass, who was 64 years old at the time – the same age I am now – and surrounded himself with a group of young people, not even in their thirties. Apart from this group, he also called on friends around the world who were ready to do something that would make a break with the past. They included outstanding names in architecture, like Michael Graves, Hans Hollein, Arata Isozaki, and even the great Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

When the first Memphis collection was presented in Milan in September 1981, composed of furniture, objects and decorations on various materials, it was as if the expectation of change that was in the air had taken on material form. It was something no one had ever seen before: in a period in which functionalism was the dominant culture, Memphis represented a breakthrough, encouraging a more sensorial and iconic approach.

My feeling is that the energy that you sense in Shanghai today is in some way the same that could be felt in Milan at that time; today, however, it is not about a revolutionary disruption of design, but about a way of putting together technology, humankind and the earth.

40 years later, this small but precious exhibition can remind us that we need to have the courage to believe in a vision that does not let itself be influenced by the market, but by the need to express the spirit of the times.

孟菲斯运动标志着二十世纪80年代初，一场不限于设计界的重大变革。

作为这场运动的发起人之一，我既是整个故事的见证者，同时又是本次展览的策展人，此情此景，这种感觉十分奇妙。

一切都始于意大利设计师埃托尔·索特萨斯（Ettore Sottsass）。那时他已经64岁了，和我现在年龄一样，一群不到三十多岁的年轻人跟随着他。除了身边的人，他还联络了世界各地踌躇满志的朋友，准备一起做一些与过去决裂的大事。他们之中包括不少建筑界的杰出人物，如迈克尔·格雷夫斯（Michael Graves）、汉斯·霍尔莱因（Hans Hollein）、矶崎遥田（Arata Isozaki），甚至还有伟大的日本时尚设计师三宅一生（Issey Miyake）。首个孟菲斯展于1981年9月在米兰展出，展品由家具、物件和各种材料制成的装饰品组成。那时，弥漫在空气中的、对变革的渴望彷佛落为目所能及的现实。在功能主义主导文化的时代，孟菲斯主义是前人闻所未闻的，它鼓励更具感知性的、标志性的设计方式，是一次全新的突破。

我能感受到，今天人们在上海所感知到的活力，在某种程度上与当时米兰展的成效是一样的；然而今天，它并非是一次设计上的革命性颠覆，而是一种技术、人类和自然三者相交相融的体现。

四十年后的今天，这次规模虽小却弥足珍贵的展览能够提醒我们，要有勇气相信还未实现的美好愿景，设计本身不应完全被市场所左右，传递时代精神才是它更为重要的使命。”