Famous for his abstract furniture and decorative objects, Italian designer and architect Ettore Sottsass is getting a brand new exhibition that places his bold, blocky and brightly-colored work in a somewhat unexpected context: the upheaval of his time.

Opening on April 18 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (I.C.A. Miami), “Ettore Sottsass and the Social Factory” will present 50 of the seminal artist’s works including furniture, objects, ceramics and drawings in addition to 53 photographs, emphasizing the many ways his beloved designs were radically (and artfully) communicating ideas about contemporary society.