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Red Blue Chair Lego Chair : By Mario Minale -
Smoke : By Maarten Baas -
Left-handed Rietveld Chair : By Julien Berthier -
Switch : By Rachel Whiteread -
Red Blue Chair : By Gerrit Rietveld -
US Dollar Sign Cabinet : By Andy Warhol
WORDS: Zulaikha Singlee
An original Red Blue Chair by iconic De Stijl architect Gerrit Rietveld is one of the headline items at the Decorative and Fine Arts Auction at Stephen Welz & Co in Cape Town on 2 and 3 October. There’s more to this chair than its funkiness.
“At the moment, buyers are going crazy for iconic 20th century furniture pieces, which, besides fitting into any retro-style living space, are now seen as collector’s items,” said Anton Welz, director and furniture specialist. The chair, estimated to go for between R20 000 and R25 000, will feature alongside other iconic 20th century items, including a Charles and Ray Eames lounger, chair and ottoman, as well as numerous Scandinavian and Italian pieces.
The simple modernist design of the Red Blue Chair is a timeless icon from the De Stijl movement, founded in the year 1917 by Dutch designer, writer and critic, Theo van Rensburg. It is often forgotten that this was not just a design-orientated movement but rather one that tried to reinvent our way of life. Highly influenced by a period defined by social instability due to the effects of World War I and influenced by the Cubist art coming out of the rest of Europe, De Stijl sought to define a utopian lifestyle that encouraged manmade solidity and rationality… And we thought it was just a funky looking chair!
The chair was initially designed in a palette of black, white and grey, but was soon changed after the designer met painter Piet Mondrian. It could be said that the design is a three-dimensional realisation of a Mondrian painting. To date this design continues to inspire designers, young and old – have look at French designer Julien Berthier’s left-handed interpretation, Mario Minale’s Lego remake and Maarten Baas’s charred version.
If you’re still asking what all the fuss is about, have a seat in the Red Blue Chair and the unanticipated comfort component will be the lure. As Rietveld once said: “We must remember, to sit is a verb too.”
The auction will also include an original painted cabinet by Andy Warhol. British sculptor Rachel Whiteread’s Switch, a sculptural representation of a light switch will also go under the gavel.
For more information, contact 021 794 6461 or e-mail ct@stephanwelzandco.co.za. The catalogue can be viewed at www.stephanwelzandco.co.za
