Norman Kelley - Design: Online Auction New York Wednesday, February 3, 2021 | Phillips

Design: Online Auction

Online Auction 3 - 10 February 2021

  • Provenance

    Gifted to the Rhode Island School of Design by Friedman Benda, New York

  • Exhibited

    "No-Thing: An exploration into aporetic architectural furniture," Friedman Benda, New York, January 18-April 14, 2018

  • Literature

    No-Thing: An exploration into aporetic architectural furniture, exh. cat., Friedman Benda, New York, January 18-April 14, 2018, p. 57 for a drawing

  • Catalogue Essay

    Both trained as architects, Carrie Norman and Thomas Kelley founded the design collaborative Norman Kelly in 2012. They call themselves “furniture appropriators” who believe “architects have designed enough chairs” and have confined themselves to impersonating venerated styles of the past. In their “Young Americans” pieces, two well-known styles—Chippendale and Federal—meld together; they have created an armchair which subtly impersonates a roll top desk like those popular after the American Revolution (lot 51) as well as a fixed tilt-top mirror table in which the reflective surface of the polished mahogany functions as a mirror (lot 52). The designers claim, “like impersonations, our objects are furniture-like; doubles who cause style, type, and function to change places with each other.”

100% of the proceeds will benefit the Office of Intercultural Student Engagement within the Center for Social Equity + Inclusion at the Rhode Island School of Design

51

Norman Kelley

"Young Americans" roll-top armchair

2018
Walnut, linen tweed upholstery.
41 x 24 1/2 x 24 in. (104.1 x 62.2 x 61 cm)
From the edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs.

Estimate
$6,000 - 8,000 

Sold for $3,780

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Design: Online Auction

Online Auction 3 - 10 February 2021