What a fine Tuesday morning to be spending in the garden blogging about chairs. I thought I'd squeeze this post in before August completely passes me by next Friday, leaving me forgetting about my four legged companion.

Okay, so this month's is actually something that caught my eye last Saturday when I was sitting in the Geffrye museum flicking through the current edition of Wallpaper. What's more, even though this was first revealed at the 2011 Milan furniture fair, it's definitely not so last year. Jan Plechác has graced this month's blog post. Yes, I bet you're thinking that I've lost my marbles on the 254 bus home last night. But seriously, it's rather cool, non?

Image Courtesy of Design Boom

The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. A photograph from years ago. A few months later I found out that they had Knoll chairs in one of the bars on Hardman Street. My life  was completely changed and I've been hooked to Liverpool ever since.

Jan Plechác has interpreted many classics from the last century like the Louis and Panton's Verner chair, but his I'm going to focus on his take on Rietveld's iconic Red Blue chair. Also, I'm considering choosing the original Panton chair as September's Chair Lust of the Month, because we had a set of them in the dining room in my last place in London, and I find myself missing them occasionally, and it would be scandalous to blog about the same (ish) chair twice!

Like Judd, I think this one really tests the boundaries between art and design. I mean, this chair's quintessential purpose is... well, I'm not sure.

It sorts of seems a bit inspired by Dixon or one of those Diamond chairs that Harry Bertoia created for Knoll, perhaps the latter more so. Whereas Bertoia created the diamond chairs with the eye of simplicity for its structure, Plechác seems to explore the idea of the physical space that chairs take up with the wire mesh.

The chair almost feels superfluous, making me wonder if this is another one of those contemporary designs that seem to solely exist to cross (and practically dance along) the line between design and art. It's quite bizarre really, that although his designs are instantaneously recognisable to any chair geek, they are nothing at all like the Rietvelds and Hoffmanns that they emulate so well.

Which is kinda cool really.

www.janandhenry.com

Labels: ART DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE, Chair Lust of the Month, CHAIRS, Jack Plechác, Wire Chairs