Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti - Design New York Wednesday, June 9, 2021 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Acquired directly from the designer by the present owner, for Furniture of the Twentieth Century

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present chair by Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti was originally conceived for a private client of the Paris gallery Néotù, and according to Mattia Bonetti, probably less than five examples were ever produced. It was imported by Furniture of the Twentieth Century, a vibrant and influential showroom and fixture of the New York design scene which was founded in 1981 by Michael Steinberg and Benedicte Siroux and closed in 1991. The showroom initially represented Andrée Putnam’s company, Ecart International, in the American market. Alongside these re-editioned works by U.A.M. modernists, they also offered other re-editions of iconic 20th century designs by companies such as BD, as well as contemporary design by Italian manufacturers such as Driade, Zanotta and Bieffeplast. In the 1980s, Furniture of the 20th Century championed many of the designers of their Parisian counterparts, such as Néotù and Galerie en attendant les barbares. Notably, they were the first American purveyors of the Memphis Group. They soon began to offer a wide array of material, including furniture designed by luminaries across multiple artistic disciplines such as Philippe Starck, Rei Kawakubo, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert Wilson. This prescient mix presented an inclusive view of the scope of 20th century design that was reflected by the eclectic, imaginative and historically informed interiors that Michael’s wife, Suzanne Slesin, championed in the world of publishing, and which Suzanne and Michael manifested in their extensively published homes over more than four decades. The present chair has remained in their collection since the 1980s.

Property of Michael Steinberg, New York

80

Rare chair

circa 1985
Painted steel, fabric upholstery.
30 3/4 x 28 x 30 1/2 in. (78.1 x 71.1 x 77.5 cm)
Seat impressed with artist's monogram BG.

Estimate
$8,000 - 12,000 

Sold for $6,300

Contact Specialist

DesignNewYork@phillips.com
212-940-1268

Design

New York Auction 9 June 2021