Cast in 100 lbs. of solid bronze...
The Unfolding Chair takes a second look at what might be the most common chair ever made.
The Unfolding Chair takes a second look at what might be the most common chair ever made.
The 1941 Steel Folding Chair by Krueger Metal Products was designed with utility and economy in mind. Originally created with excess metal from steel companies, the lightweight design's ability to fold and nest made it perfect for temporary or shifting and congregational assemblies as well as everyday use. Commonly sold for two dollars, this design has become one of the most under-featured ubiquitous chairs of the 20th century. By producing the image of this chair in solid bronze and removing its ability to fold and nest, the designers deconstruct the brilliance of its inception by trading the design's functional value for a material one, thus unfolding the design. Denying functionality, the object becomes the sculptural image of the chair, thereby establishing that image into history via the undoing of that which made it so prolific to begin with.
This project was designed and executed thru the collaborative efforts of Ben Stagl, Bo Rodda, Jason Gillette, Max Davis, and Kuan Wen Chiu and was selected to be exhibited in the Chicagoland exhibit at WANTED DESIGN in 2013. The aim of the show was simply to compile the best cross-section of design work from the Chicago region and exhibit it at the best, largest, most widely recognized design market in the US: New York Design Week.
Above: Designers Kuan Chiu, Ben Stagl, Bo Rodda, and Jason Gillette of ChiLab.
