Details

Title

Bone Armchair (prototype)

Artist/Maker

Joris Laarman (Dutch, born 1979), designer
Joris Laarman Lab, Dutch, established 2004, maker

Date

2008

Medium

Cast marble resin and ground bone china

Dimensions

29 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches

Credit

Purchase with funds from the Decorative Arts Acquisition Endowment

Accession #

2008.163

On View

On View - Wieland Pavilion, Skyway, Gallery 420

Although the organic form of Joris Laarman’s Bone armchair may be reminiscent of Art Nouveau furniture designs from the early 1900s, it is firmly rooted in twenty-first-century technology. Laarman created the design using scientific research on the structural growth patterns of bones and trees and generated it with computer software developed for the European automotive industry. A full-scale model was produced through the rapid prototyping (stereolithography) process, from which this prototype was cast. Reduced to the elements of utility, efficiency, and conservation of material, Laarman’s design puts a contemporary twist on challenging the geometric aesthetic usually associated with minimalist design.

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