The Man Behind the Chair
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Every piece the designer Joe Colombo created for the furniture manufacturer Kartell from 1964 to 1971, as well as sketches and photos from the Joe Colombo archive in Milan, is currently on display at R 20th Century. "He was one of the great geniuses of his time," said Zesty Meyers, an owner of the gallery. "And he's still relatively unknown."
The exhibition, which opened Wednesday, coincides with Kartell's reissue of Mr. Colombo's 4801 chair in plastic, pictured. When it was introduced in 1965, the chair was made of wood because the technology didn't exist to make it in plastic. But as Claudio Luti, president and chief executive of Kartell, said, current industrial molding technology now allows Kartell to "reproduce the curving sinuous lines of the piece in exactly the same proportions" in plastic.
Through Feb. 10 at R 20th Century, 82 Franklin Street (at Church Street), (212) 343-7979, r20thcentury.com. The 4801 chair is $2,790 at Kartell, 39 Greene Street (Broome Street), (212) 966-6665, kartell.com.
First Published February 4, 2012 12:01 am
