Peter Shire’s Grand Tour

Peter Shire’s Grand Tour: A Snapshot of Design History, 1980–1989, published by Apartamento, is an intimate travel diary and visual time capsule from an era later described as the last design revolution. The broad, 420-page book follows Californian artist and designer Peter Shire as he documents the decade that saw the rise and flourishing of the world-renowned Memphis design group. Candid shots from cities across Italy and Vienna offer a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into a pivotal period in design history, featuring appearances by design legends such as Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini and Matteo Thun. Accompanied by Peter Shire’s handwritten notes, the imagery paints an authentic and immersive portrait of 1980s Italy through the eyes of a designer at the heart of the movement. The book was edited by art director and graphic designer Christoph Radl, who moved to Milan in the 1970s. ”Some of these photos I took with the intuition that they were important, and all of them with the desire to capture my impressions and my memory. Who would have known that they would become something. The accidental tourist, the accidental documentarian?” – Peter Shire