Provenance
Industry Gallery, Washington D.C.
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2011
Literature
Sophie Jones, "Touch of Wood," Art Review, March 2003, p. 120 for the "Slice" chair executed in plywood
Anders Hammarstrand, Mathias Bengtsson, exh. cat., Röhsska Museet, Gothenburg, 2005, pp. 4-5, 18-19, pp. 20-21 for individual “slices”
Sophie Lovell, Furnish: Furniture and Interior Design for the 21st Century, Berlin, 2007, for the "Slice" chair executed in plywood
Robert Klanten, et al., Desire: The Shape of Things to Come, Berlin, 2008, p. 115, fig. 5
Mathias Bengtsson, Alistair Robinson, Mathias Bengtsson, Manchester, 2009, pp. 4, 5, 6, 7, 47
Catalogue Essay
“The Slice chair was constructed with the same adeptness an architect would employ to create a topological map of the landscape, evoking the illusion of a piece of furniture cut away from a cliff face and scaled to human proportions." BRADLEY QUINN, Scandinavian Style, 2003

After studying furniture design in the early 1990s at the Danish College of Design and the Art Centre College in Switzerland, Mathias Bengtsson co-founded the design collective Panic, which helped to create new opportunities and support for young Danish designers. Bengtsson moved to London in 1996 to study design at the Royal College of Art under Ron Arad and eventually became a creator of the design collaborations At the Third Stroke and Design Laboratory. By 2002 Bengtsson had established his own studio after gaining international acclaim for his “Slice” series, exhibited widely throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Mathias Bengtsson received the Finn Juhl Prize in 2012, awarded annually by the Wilhelm Hank foundation.

Bengtsson defines himself as a designer, but his approach is that of a fine artist that treats furniture forms as subject matter despite their eventual and intended functionality. Attracted to both the limitations and opportunities of his field, he has explained that “furniture is just a platform or medium to present my ideas and a framework to ‘build’ from.” One of his best known designs, the “Slice” chair was produced in two series: in aluminum and plywood. As described by Bradley Quinn, “The Slice chair was constructed with the same adeptness an architect would employ to create a topological map of the landscape, evoking the illusion of a piece of furniture cut away from a cliff face and scaled to human proportions." (Scandinavian Style, 2003). An exploration in matter and time, the chair’s layered construction visually references mineral formations and its fluid profile stormy weather patterns. It evokes movement that occurs over millions of years or in a millisecond. This contrast is re-enforced by its construction in which the chair’s concept and materiality are defined equally by a human and a computer. The technological innovations that are a driving force behind Bengtsson’s designs are just one part of the traditional process he follows: beginning with a sketch, working up to a full-scale model, and then employing a computer to delineate each laser-cut layer for hand-assembly. He has said “The Slice series creates hand-made furniture using a computerized industrial process.” This combination intentionally echoes our own complicated relationship to the modern world, which is made larger by advances in technology but is ultimately reliant on human input.

Examples of Bengtsson’s work are in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee Art Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

12

Mathias Bengtsson

“Slice” chair

circa 1999
laser-cut aluminum
30 5/8 x 36 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. (77.8 x 92.7 x 73 cm)
The underside is computer-incised with facsimile signature/Mathias Bengtsson /Slice Chair/ A1 and top layer inscribed Mathias Bengtsson/11 / 20 in black ink. This work is number 11 from an edition of 20.

Estimate
$30,000 - 40,000

Sold for $60,000

Contact Specialist
Amanda Stoffel
Head of Evening Sale, Contemporary Art
New York
+ 1 212 940 1261

Meaghan Roddy
Head of Sale, Design
New York
+ 1 212 940 1266

Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 3 March 2015 6pm

1
Franz West
Divan
Estimate $70,000 - 100,000
Sold for $137,000
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2
Fredrik Værslev
Untitled
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $68,750
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3
Wyatt Kahn
Pair
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $137,000
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4
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
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5
Ed Ruscha
Cherry
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $665,000
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6
Martin Kippenberger
Ego (Selbstporträt)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $87,500
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7
Peter Doig
Untitled
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $293,000
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8
Richard Prince
Untitled (cowboy)
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,145,000
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9
Marilyn Minter
Wave
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $269,000
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10
Guyton\Walker
Untitled (Ketel 1 Knife Painting)
Estimate $90,000 - 120,000
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11
Kelley Walker
Untitled
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $100,000
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12
Mathias Bengtsson
“Slice” chair
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $60,000
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13
Alex Hubbard
Nonstop Home
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $62,500
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14
Dan Flavin
Untitled (to Lucie Rie, Master Potter) 1J
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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15
Dan Rees
Artex Painting
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $75,000
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16
Kenneth Noland
Chac volant
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
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17
Carl Andre
32-Part Reciprocal Invention (RS 1971-20)
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
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18
Sturtevant
Study for Stella Bethlehem's Hospital
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
Sold for $317,000
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19
Sturtevant
Muybridge Plate #136, Woman Shifting Her Weight with Arms on Hip, Arms Behind Back
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $81,250
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20
Haim Steinbach
ten second memos #7
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $68,750
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21
Luc Tuymans
Exhibit #2
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $305,000
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22
Marc Newson
"Extruded Table 2"
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $179,000
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23
Franz West
o.T. (model)
Estimate $70,000 - 100,000
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24
Martin Kippenberger
Sechs
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $40,000
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25
Niki de Saint Phalle
Pouf serpent bleu
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $87,500
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26
Tom Wesselmann
Blue Nude Drawing (12/17/99)
Estimate $350,000 - 550,000
Sold for $389,000
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27
Keith Haring
Pyramid
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $245,000
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28
Jack Pierson
The Crippled Beggar Knew a Priceless Secret
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $106,250
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29
Mark Flood
Announcement Frame
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $43,750
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30
Christian Rosa
Flora or Floral
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
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31
Thomas Heatherwick
"Extrusion" bench
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
Sold for $112,500
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32
Ryan Sullivan
September 1, 2009 - February 11, 2010
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $50,000
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33
Thomas Houseago
Abstract Head I
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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34
Oscar Tuazon
Untitled
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35
Rashid Johnson
Bull
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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36
Franz West
Trog
Estimate $60,000 - 80,000
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Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 3 March 2015 6pm

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Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

12

Mathias Bengtsson

“Slice” chair

Contemporary Art and Design Evening Sale

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