Rome 2019, burnished steel, woven cotton and nylon straps, height 84 cm, width 50 cm, depth 64 cm. (DRAX)

A unique piece.

Designed on the occasion of the exhibition „Bentwood and Beyond. Thonet and Modern Furniture Design“, 2019 at the MAK in Vienna.

Lit.:
S. Hackenschmidt - W. Thillmann, Bentwood and Beyond, Thonet and Modern Furniture Design, exh. cat., Museum of Applied Art (MAK), Basel 2019, ill. p. 20

Auctioned in favour of the purchase of the parquet pattern boards of the Thonet brothers, Vienna c. 1855, for the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), Vienna.

“For the S33 from 1926, Mart Stam experimented with industrial scrap and steel tubes. This approach was extremely innovative at that time and gave me the idea to combine the S33 with something from our present. The essence of Mart’s object always had something very contemporary and rudimentary for me. Its frame inspired me to establish a connection with Franz West’s Uncle Chairs, created 75 years later. It is also a tribute to the two masters, both of whom were active in Vienna. It is interesting to see how closely related these two iconic chairs are - a veritable ‘air de famille’, despite their astounding age difference. I personally find it exciting, especially in the digital age, that the Franz West model distances itself from industrial production and breathes more soul into the object. The works of the two masters clearly show how each of them worked in his respective field: Mart in design, West in art. These two different approaches are perfectly recognizable in their objects.” (Rolf Sachs)