A thoroughly contemporary lounge chair with anthropomorphous qualities, Newson's creation recalls a time when full, soft bodies were all the rage. His steel imitates the torso's contours and curves, which doesn't, however, equal high comfort. In fact, the chair almost demands...
[more]A thoroughly contemporary lounge chair with anthropomorphous qualities, Newson's creation recalls a time when full, soft bodies were all the rage. His steel imitates the torso's contours and curves, which doesn't, however, equal high comfort. In fact, the chair almost demands a sitter with the same body as the one pressed into steel-- one with lots of extra padding.
Newson is a child star of the design world. Shortly after graduation from the Sydney College of Art, where he studied jewelry and sculpture, Newson fashioned an ode to the American aircraft manufacturer Lockheed, and earned the respect of design giants like Philippe Starck and Ron Arad. Composed of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, the "Lockheed Lounge" (1985-86) features torso-curves that extend naturally into little rubber-tipped legs. The chaise's surface consists of aluminum sheets sewn together with blind rivets, like an airplane fuselage.
With the support of Japanese designer Tentuo Kurosaki's company Id'e, Newson continued to create streamlined seating, like the "Orgone" and "Alufelt" chairs. And through a 1995 commission from the Cartier Contemporary Art Foundation in Paris, Newson designed the interactive installation "Bucky," an arrangement of low, soft-seeming chairs shaped and hued like gummy bears. Two years later, the designer moved to London where he founded Marc Newson, Ltd., with Benjamin De Haan. The firm designs interiors, glassware, watches and, of course, chairs and such.
From '30s torso sculptures by Jean Arp and Karl Hartung to the biomorphic kitschy structures of the '50s, Newson's influences are widespread. Distorting natural forms for decorative purposes, he has encouraged hoards of Modernist utilitarians to redecorate.
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