Chair One
Chair
2002 (designed), 2006 (manufactured)
2002 (designed), 2006 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The significance of Chair One derives from its striking linear form, the product of a logical examination of the necessary structure for a chair, reduced to its minimum elements. It is like a two-dimensional drawing of a chair, rendered into three dimensions. The angular, graphic aesthetic, like a wire-frame drawing, was quite new in the early 2000s and in part arose from the use of CAD (computer aided design). With Chair One the designer Konstantin Grcic introduced a new paradigm into the design vocabulary of contemporary furniture, that of the crystal or fractal, and influenced many other designers. Chair One was originally intended primarily as public outdoor seating and spawned a whole family of variants including beam seating and outdoor chairs on concrete cone bases.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Chair One (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Cast and extruded aluminium |
| Brief description | Chair One, cast and extruded aluminium, painted red; designed by Konstantin Grcic, 2002, manufactured by Magis, Italy, 2006 |
| Physical description | Chair with oblong section brushed aluminium feet terminating with grey plastic inserted feet, supporting a red painted cast aluminium one-piece seat and back in the form of an open lattice. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | Milan in a Van label:
Public One chair
Die cast aluminium, concrete
2002
Designed by Konstantin Grcic (German, born 1965)
Grcic studied cabinet-making at Parnham College and completed his MA in Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art in 1990. His thoughtful and intelligent designs transcend the merely fashionable products of many of his peers. Achille Castiglioni said of him, "He's a designer who's not out to change the world, yet he pursues demanding, neutral, well-thought-out projects that are bound to have a lasting effect."
Manufactured by Magis (Italy)
Public One, part of a range of chairs and tables, is Grcic's first collaboration with Magis. The company has no factories of its own, instead it out-sources production to specialist contractors. However, Magis pays for the research and developement and retains ownership of the tooling. This is a very early prototype.
Lent by Magis(21/04/2002-09/06/2002) |
| Credit line | Given by the manufacturer |
| Object history | A prototype of this chair was displayed in the V&A Exhibition 'Milan in a Van', 2002. This example was acquired at the same time as ten black examples were given by Magis for use in the Directors Dining Room. |
| Summary | The significance of Chair One derives from its striking linear form, the product of a logical examination of the necessary structure for a chair, reduced to its minimum elements. It is like a two-dimensional drawing of a chair, rendered into three dimensions. The angular, graphic aesthetic, like a wire-frame drawing, was quite new in the early 2000s and in part arose from the use of CAD (computer aided design). With Chair One the designer Konstantin Grcic introduced a new paradigm into the design vocabulary of contemporary furniture, that of the crystal or fractal, and influenced many other designers. Chair One was originally intended primarily as public outdoor seating and spawned a whole family of variants including beam seating and outdoor chairs on concrete cone bases. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.6-2007 |
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| Record created | March 13, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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