Based on the Italian designer's own 1978 Proust chair, Alessandro Mendini has created a series of 14 miniature ceramic versions in conjunction with SUPEREGO editions.
The original chair (source):
The Proust Armchair was first designed by Alessandro Mendini in 1978. This unique armchair represents the original meeting between handcraft and design, between classic and modern. It is part of Mendini's series "redesigns furniture". Believing that Modern Design had reached the end of its natural life and that designers could no longer create innovative designs, Mendini "redesigned" acknowledged classics. The Proust chair is inspired from the Louis XV style. Mendini was attempting to create a feel for the work of late XIX Century author Marcel Proust and used a style of chair of the period.
above: The Proust Armchair, now produced by Cappellini, is hand-carved on a hand-painted wooden frame, upholstered with fixed multicolor fabric matching the colours of the structure. This armchair is the re-edition of one of the historic pieces of contemporary Italian design. It is available in two multicolored versions.
Now, the new miniature ceramic versions:
Each miniature ceramic Proust chair measure 40cm high. The solid colors are limited to 55 of each, the three metallic versions are limited to 45 of each and the two pixel patterned versions are limited to 35 editions of each.
Solids:
Metallics:
Patterned:
The piece were shown at the Tingo Design Gallery in Milan, Italy during Salon del mobile. If you are interested in purchasing one, please contact the gallery.
About the artist:
Architect Alessandro Mendini was born in Milan in 1931. He directed the magazines Casabella, Modo and Domus. Monographs on his work and his projects with the Alchimia group have been published in different languages.
His focus is on objects, furniture, concept interiors, paintings, installations and architecture. International collaborations include Alessi, Philips, Cartier, Swatch and Hermès. Alessandro Mendini is a design and image consultant to many different kinds of companies, including ones in the Far East. He is an honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. In 1979 and 1981 he was awarded the Italian Compasso d’Oro of design; in France he carries the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres; he is the recipient of an honorary title from the Architectural League of New York and was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Milan Polytechnic. At the Universität für angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Mendini worked as professor of design. His work is featured in many museums and private collections.
With his brother Francesco Mendini he opened Atelier Mendini in 1989, designing the Alessi factory in Omegna; the new Olympic pool in Trieste; a series of subway stops in Naples; the refurbishment of the Naples City Hall, the Byblos Art Hotel in Verona; the new Trend Group headquarters in Vicenza, Italy; a commemorative tower in Hiroshima, Japan; the Groninger Museum in Holland; a district of Lugano, Switzerland; the Madsack office building in Hanover, a commercial building in Lörrach, Germany and other buildings in Europe and the USA.
Now, I have a thing for chairs. If you do too, check out:
Artists Take A Seat: Various Paintings of Chairs By Contemporary Talents