Important Design
Important Design
Property of a New York Collector
Ron Arad
Pair of "Rolling Volume" Chairs
Auction Closed
December 8, 07:38 PM GMT
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property of a New York Collector
Ron Arad
Pair of "Rolling Volume" Chairs
1996
numbers 17 and 20 from an edition of 20
mirror-polished and patinated steel
each incised Ron Arad and numbered 17/20 and 20/20 respectively
31½ x 30 x 37½ in. (80 x 76.2 x 95.25 cm) each
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2000
Alexander von Vegesack, ed., Ron Arad: “Sticks and Stones,” One Offs & Short Runs, 1980-1990, exh. cat., Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 1990, pp. 111 (for a period photograph of a similar version of the polished model)
Deyan Sudjic, Ron Arad, London, 1999, pp. 62 (for a photograph of the polished model)
Matthew Collings, Ron Arad talks to Matthew Collings about designing chairs, vases, buildings and..., London, 2004, pp. 98 (for a photograph of the patinated model) and 99 (for a photograph of the polished model)
Ron Arad, exh. cat., Barry Friedman Gallery, New York, 2005, pp. 75 (for a photograph of the polished model)
Paola Antonelli, Ron Arad: No Discipline, exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, 2009, p. 51
Sotheby’s would like to thank Ron Arad and Associates Limited for their assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.
The present lot illustrates nuanced dualities of form and function and light and dark. Ron Arad has the rare ability to waver between and explore these contrasts fully in his designs. Born to a painter and photographer in Tel Aviv, Arad is as much a designer as he is an artist. His early beginnings at the Jerusalem Academy of Art led him to study at the Architectural Association in London in 1974. He opened a design workshop in Covent Garden in 1981 called One Off, which served as his creative playground. Arad’s Volume series advanced his fascination with material experimentation and welding with steel. The present pair of steel chairs display a spectrum of light and dark, with the first chair having a deep, rich patina and the second having a bright, polished surface. They juxtapose each other as day does to night yet coexist as their beauty enhances one another.
The patina of the first chair is almost lunar; subtle gradations of dusky tones meander and swirl to create an atmospheric pattern. The polish of the second chair is curiously solar. The mirrored surface amplifies light, with a brilliance that shines at every voluminous curve and corner. Like planetary forms, the chairs impressively defy gravity and present simultaneously as sculptures and seating, inviting spirited interactivity. Contrary to a typical rocking chair, Arad’s design thrillingly tips sitters backwards. He tests the balance between form and function, approaching design from a sculptural perspective while still producing working chairs. The present lot undeniably captivates with complementary finishes exhibiting Arad’s abstract sensibility and industrial aesthetic.