Chairs, Chair Design and Chair Designers
Hans Hollein was an Austrian Architect who also studied extensively in the USA (Chicago and California). For me he rose to fame with Haas House in Vienna, just opposite the Stephansdome….he drew a lot of fuzz and critique when it was built, but now every Wiener is glad it mirrors the Stephansdome so nicely. He designed two sofa’s for Poltronova….one of them the Marilyn.
Just imagine the lady draped on this sofa…it would fit, wouldn’t it?
Chair Car is a famous chair painting by Edward Hopper from 1965.
In 2005 at Christie’s it fetched a whopping USD 14,016,000
When you follow this link to Yatzer, you can read an interesting story about the making of a short film about this whole Hopper project.
For the SingaPlural exhibition, we were invited to participate and re-interpret the iconic “Kopitiam” Chair.
Using parts from another chair, we transformed our piece into a 3-legged seat with the third leg styled to resemble a walking stick. Our intent was to personify the chair as an elderly man who is in serious need of a break. Fact is, his retirement is long overdue.
“I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with the “Kopitiam” Chair. Unfortunately, it is one of the most clichéd props used by cafés and restaurants seeking an instant shot of old world charm. From a practical view, it is heavy, cumbersome, drags noisily across the floor and cannot be stacked. There are definitely better and “younger” chairs out there that can take its place. My wish is for the Elderly Chair to be left to enjoy his retirement in peace.”
– &Larry
Found at andLarry Elderly Chair
PP124 Rocking Chair by Hans Wegner for PP Møbler found at the Design Museum Danmark in Copenhagen.
The Z Down Folding Chair by Erik Magnussen was designed in 1960. I found it at the Danish Design Museum in Copenhagen.
Erik Magnussen (1940-2014) is not a typical chair designer. He was educated as a ceramist at the School of Applied Arts and Design, graduating in 1960. His works – ranging from tableware to furniture, lamps and high-tech products – are characterized by simplicity and functional elegance.
He has worked for manufacturers such as Bing & Grøndahl, Stelton, Fritz Hansen, Royal Copenhagen, Paustian, Royal Selangor and Shipmate – realizing many different products in a variety of materials. One of his most famous products is the vacuum jug he designed for Stelton in 1977. The vacuum jug, which was originally launched in stainless steel, is now produced in ABS plastic and throughout the time has been produced in more than 30 colours. Erik Magnussen’s vacuum jug was introduced as follow-up to Arne Jacobsen’s Cylinda-Line. Just like Arne Jacobsen’s design the stringent cylindrical shape and two-coloured, graphic appearance of the vacuum jug expresses a minimalism and functionality that keeps being ahead of its time.
He designed two chairs for Engelbrechts (for future posts) and Engelbrechts seems having produced The Z Down Folding Chair as well.
According to a Swedish store the Z Down was produced between 1960 and 1969 by Torben Ørskov. Vintage mentions two for sale.