This summer, the Textile Museum worked with 36 local designers and artists to “re-imagine” Louis XVI-style armchairs. The finished chairs in the reDesign 2011 project go under the hammer tonight in a gala event at the Gladstone Hotel, but the Toronto Standard offers its own overview of the most out-there offerings.
The original: Louis XVI chair (above)
The style was among the first neoclassical chairs made in Paris in the mid-17th century; think tapered fluted legs, architectural mouldings and guilded framework (and a timeless design, according to House & Home magazine’s 2008 tip: “a classic Louis with new upholstery will never look out of place”).
The classic-meets-modern: Bookhou’s untitled
The west-end shop and studio pared back the chair’s original form to its basic silhouette and replaced the upholstered seat with steam-bent ash wood “in a way that would let the old and new parts co-exist and inform each other,” says the studio.
The historically charged: Cannon Design’s 3 Times Larger in New France
“Our re-design juxtaposes two realities,” says the architecture, engineering and interior design firm. “The extravagant prosperity of France and the raw, fur trade-based economy of New France.” Inspired by the socio-cultural relationship between France and Canada in the 1700s, Cannon Design merged a plush, upholstered seat and ornate frame with a back laced with babiche rawhide, traditionally used for lacing snowshoes in Canada.
The extreme makeovers: Castor’s Chair Paper and Levitt Goodman Architects’ Chair Redux
Both studios shredded the chairs down to pulp and turned it into paper. Says Levitt Goodman: “Our finished product is the result of an extreme transformation of form.” Says Castor: “We decided the chair was pretty ugly and we felt obligated to destroy it.”
The ultimate collaboration: Superkl Inc Architect’s 1000 feet | 18 hands
The architecture firm brought aboard every member of its staff—nine people (aka 18 hands)—to work on this project, which was created in shifts over several weeks using 1,000 feet of twill tape. “The design and image of the chair evolved as the chair took shape; we decided together when the re-Design was complete,” says the studio.
The Canadian: Made’s The Hunting Chair
A nod to Canada’s outdoor culture and iconography, this piece is covered in buffalo plaid and speckled with kitschy souvenir patches. “It offers shared notions of nature and nation through a personalized trophy,” says the west-end Canadian design showroom.
The art piece: Gord Peteran’s Elaborinth
The artist and furniture designer used brass and wood to create a chaotic, multi-layered form. “Elaborinth comes from the complex layering of style that we apply to our world as we wrestle with the three levels of desire,” says Peteran.
The cut-and-paste: Thrush Holmes’ Stagger
“The process of redesigning this chair turned so frustrating,” says Holmes, “that I was compelled to abuse it.” The artist and gallery owner cut the chair in half and affixed it to a park bench, which he etched with text, and installed the seat back with a neon pink light.
The replacement: Patty Johnson’s Liana Chair
The globally-minded designer donated the chair to the Furniture Bank and instead is auctioning off one of her Liana Chairs made in Guyana by Liana Cane Furniture, one of the companies she collaborates with, made from kufa vines from the Amazon rainforest. “This chair has not only found a life in many homes around the world, it illustrates the best practice of sustainable making in all realms,” says Johnson. “Give me one chair and I’ll give you back two.”
The winterized chair: Jeremy Laing’s Sweater Chair.
It’s a chair wearing a sweater. Enough said.
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Paige Magarrey writes on design for Toronto Standard.
