“[The Cinderella table is] about attention to detail and the possibility to make something unique with a machine that is normally used for mass production.”
—Jeroen VerhoevenNow one of the most coveted and collected designers of the twenty-first century, Jeroen Verhoeven became an overnight success with the production of the present model table, which he initially began as a student at the Design Academy, Eindhoven. Just as the Cinderella fairytale is a story of transformation, the table transforms based on the viewer’s perspective from different vantage points. To construct the table, Verhoeven began by drawing the silhouettes of a baroque table and a bombé chest, both furniture forms from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that he studied in the Stedlijk Museum in Amsterdam. He then used computer software to merge the silhouettes into one three-dimensional form. By combining these two forms, Verhoeven simultaneously injected himself into a centuries-long history of exquisite artistry and craftsmanship while also heralding a new vision for the future of design.
Jeroen Verhoeven in his studio with the present model table. Verhoeven’s interest in history is complicated by his use of plywood. Verhoeven employed the same attention to detail and craftsmanship in his use of this industrial material as an eighteenth-centruy cabinetmaker. The table consists of 741 layers of plywood that have been machine-cut and meticulously glued together and finished by hand. Discussing the table, the designer has said, “it’s about attention to detail and the possibility to make something unique with a machine that is normally used for mass production.” The Cinderella table’s construction, materials, and form are not the only elements that are about transformation. With this table, Verhoeven presciently transformed contemporary notions of design’s potential and ushered in a new period of contemporary design. Recognized by institutions internationally, the Cinderella table belongs to the permanent collection of museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Provenance
Friedman Benda, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2007Literature
Sarah D. Coffin, et al., eds., Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008, exh. cat., Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York, 2008, p. 237
Gareth Williams, ed., Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design, exh. cat., Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2009, p. 73
Jeroen Verhoeven: Lectori Salutem, London, 2013, p. 12
Property from an Important European Collection
104
"Cinderella" table
2004
CNC-cut birch plywood.
31 3/4 x 52 1/2 x 39 7/8 in. (80.6 x 133.4 x 101.3 cm)
Produced by Demakersvan, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Number 8 from the edition of 20 plus 4 artist's proofs and 1 prototype.
Estimate
$60,000 - 80,000
Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist
Associate Head of Sale
bgreen@phillips.com
+1 917 207 9090
Design
New York Auction 8 June 2023
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