Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Design 1900 to Now, Room 76

Garriris Chair

Chair
1987 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Javier Mariscal is a Spanish designer and artist who studied graphics at the Escuela de Grafismo Elisava. After leaving education he worked as an illustrator on underground comics. In the late 1970's he invented a set of comic characters called ‘Los Garriris’. In the 1980's he began his career as a furniture designer and painter, but comic illustration still remained a key part of his work. In 1985 he started to turn the characters from ‘Los Garriris’ into objects. Of all his cartoon-like furniture, this chair most closely resembles Mickey Mouse, with the mouse ears on the back. The cartoon feet on the chair legs resemble also the feet of ‘Los Garriris’ character Julian the dog.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleGarriris Chair (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Chromed square steel tube with aluminium, plywood seat and leather upholstery
Brief description
Chair, square tubular steel legs, leather seat, 'Mickey Mouse' ears on the back and aluminium shoes, 'Garriris', by Javier Mariscal, Spain, 1987.
Physical description
Chair with chromed square tubular legs, aluminium polished 'Mickey Mouse' shoes, leather seat and back with 'Mouse' ears.
Dimensions
  • Height: 95cm
  • Width: 45cm
  • Depth: 62.5cm
Measured from object
Style
Production typeMass produced
Object history
In the late 1970s Javier Mariscal invented a set of comic characters called Los Garriris. In 1985 he started to turn the characters into objects. This chair was created for the newly founded Spanish furniture company Akaba S.A. Of all Mariscal's cartoon-like objects, this chair most closely resembles Mickey Mouse (with the chair back 'ears'). The cartoon feet on the chair legs resemble also the feet of Los Garriris character Julian the dog.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Javier Mariscal is a Spanish designer and artist who studied graphics at the Escuela de Grafismo Elisava. After leaving education he worked as an illustrator on underground comics. In the late 1970's he invented a set of comic characters called ‘Los Garriris’. In the 1980's he began his career as a furniture designer and painter, but comic illustration still remained a key part of his work. In 1985 he started to turn the characters from ‘Los Garriris’ into objects. Of all his cartoon-like furniture, this chair most closely resembles Mickey Mouse, with the mouse ears on the back. The cartoon feet on the chair legs resemble also the feet of ‘Los Garriris’ character Julian the dog.
Collection
Accession number
W.20-2010

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Record createdOctober 7, 2010
Record URL
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