Johnson Trading Gallery, New York Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2007
Literature
Zoë Ryan, Max Lamb, and Ryan Gander, Max Lamb: Exercises in Seating, exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago, 2018, pp. 82, 84, 86-87, 117
Catalogue Essay
In his seating designs—of which there are over 400—Max Lamb often experiments with new forms, materials, and techniques. Lamb made the present lot, for example, using the lost-foam casting process, a highly unconventional production method for furniture making. In this process, a polystyrene foam model of the chair is submerged into sand and then poured over with molten bronze, melting the foam and giving the chair its unique, beady surface. Lamb’s novel use of materials results in a surprising experience with the work: the lightness of foam, from which the chair takes its form, contradicts the heaviness of the bronze and provides the user with an unexpectedly engaging experience. Lamb described his process saying, “The high fluid rate of molten bronze allows a perfectly exact replica of the polystyrene ‘master’ to be cast. Because the master is sacrificed during the casting process, each subsequent bronze stool or chair…is unique." In this regard, the chair is both original and part of a larger editioned series. An example from the edition belongs to the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
designed 2006 Silicon bronze. 28 1/2 x 12 x 15 in. (72.4 x 30.5 x 38.1 cm) Produced for Johnson Trading Gallery, New York. From the edition of 10 unique examples.