Ron Arad - Design New York Wednesday, June 9, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Collection of the artist, London; Alexander von Vegesack, Germany; Phillips de Pury & Company, Masterworks from the Collection of Alexander von Vegesack, December 8, 2005, Lot 9

  • Exhibited

    “Volumes Two,” Inspazio Metals, Milan, 1989; “Ron Arad: Sticks and Stones,” Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 1990-1995; "13 nach Memphis," Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, February 15-March 15, 1995; "100 Years-100 Chairs," Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 2000-2005

  • Literature

    One Offs & Short Runs, exh. cat., Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, 1995, p. 112; Deyan Sudjic, Ron Arad, London, 1999, pp. 58-59

  • Catalogue Essay

    Cut, forged, and welded from sheet steel, Ron Arad’s “Little Heavy” was among his increasingly expressionistic, sculptural works of the late 1980s, a departure from the earlier pragmatism of his Kee Klamp experiments such as “Rover Chair” and “Round Rail Bed”. In Restless Furniture, Deyan Sudjic wrote: “While some designers continue to celebrate the imagery of the machine…others like Arad attempt to turn design into a species of poetry.” (New York, 1989) By the time of “Little Heavy”, Arad had mostly left behind salvaged or open-source materials, his use of which was so reminiscent of machines and vehicles. He gave wing to his imagination and with it a new poetry: the rhythms of volume and space for which he is now celebrated.

  • Artist Biography

    Ron Arad

    Israeli • 1951

    Ron Arad's work and career is characterized by his movement between modes and constant experimentation. Arad was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1951 and studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Art before moving to London in 1973. He began his practice in London in the early 1980s and set up One Off Ltd, focused on limited edition objects, with his partner Caroline Thorman. A decade later he had moved to industrial production techniques and collaborations with large design firms such as Vitra and Kartell.

    A persistent theme throughout his work is innovation and the idea of the "new." Still producing work today, Arad uses the latest technology to produce his designs and also integrates it within his pieces, such as his Lolita Chandelier (2004) that can receive and display text messages. Arad also continually experiments with materials and has an exceptional skill to coax volume and undulation out of them, with a particular affinity for metal. His works such as The Big Easy chair (1988) walk the line between design and sculpture. Once an outsider, Arad's relentless energy to design, build and collaborate has placed him firmly within the highest ranks of the design world.

    View More Works

205

Prototype “Little Heavy” chair

1989
Patinated steel.
29 1/4 in. (74.3 cm.) high.
Produced by One-Off Ltd., UK.  Prototype for the edition of 20. Underside painted with "VGB-1003."

Estimate
$60,000 - 80,000 

Sold for $74,500

Design

9 June 2010
New York