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Louis Ghost armchair

Armchair
2002 (designed), 2007 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Philippe Starck has designed numerous plastic chairs, always seeking to lower their cost without compromising their quality. One means is to mould the chair entirely as a single piece, as here, reducing assembly and handling costs to a minimum. The Louis Ghost armchair, and related chairs designed for Kartell in Milan, is made from injection-moulded polycarbonate, a very strong, glassy plastic. Starck's rendering of a late eighteenth-century form of armchair evokes historic good taste, but is sharply contrasted by the icy perfection of the transparent plastic, which is more suggestive of modernity and the future than of the past. The Louis Ghost chair, therefore, combines all the glamour of the Salon with the efficiency of an industrially made product. In the first three years of its production over 100,000 chairs had been sold.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLouis Ghost armchair (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Injection-moulded clear polycarbonate
Brief description
Louis Ghost armchair, designed by Philippe Starck, 2002, manufactured by Kartell, Italy, 2007, injection moulded clear polycarbonate
Physical description
Armchair injection-moulded in one piece from clear polycarbonate, with four legs, scooped arms and a sheild back, reminiscent in shape overall of an eighteenth century armchair
Dimensions
  • Height: 940mm
  • Width: 540mm
  • Depth: 550mm
Dimensions taken from Kartell's technical sheet for this product, not measured from the object
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
Given by the manufacturer
Summary
Philippe Starck has designed numerous plastic chairs, always seeking to lower their cost without compromising their quality. One means is to mould the chair entirely as a single piece, as here, reducing assembly and handling costs to a minimum. The Louis Ghost armchair, and related chairs designed for Kartell in Milan, is made from injection-moulded polycarbonate, a very strong, glassy plastic. Starck's rendering of a late eighteenth-century form of armchair evokes historic good taste, but is sharply contrasted by the icy perfection of the transparent plastic, which is more suggestive of modernity and the future than of the past. The Louis Ghost chair, therefore, combines all the glamour of the Salon with the efficiency of an industrially made product. In the first three years of its production over 100,000 chairs had been sold.
Bibliographic reference
Williams, Gareth, 'The Furniture Machine, furniture since 1990', 2006, pp90-92
Collection
Accession number
W.9-2007

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Record createdJuly 24, 2007
Record URL
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