Ron Arad - Design New York Wednesday, December 7, 2022 | Phillips

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  • Ron Arad’s Oh Void 2 belongs to a family of seating in which the London-based, Tel Aviv-born designer explored the design potential of high-tech and unconventional materials. The dimensions and proportions of each version from the group vary but all adhere to the same basic form: that of a rocking chaise longue composed of two joined ellipses. For the first version, created in 2003 as part of the “Paperwork” collection, Arad used carbon fiber.

     

    A sketch of Oh Void 2, 2004. Credit to come.
    Ron Arad, sketch of Oh Void 2, 2004.

     

    A year later, Arad experimented with Corian, a hard-wearing plastic more often associated with domestic interiors than high-design furniture. Dupont, the manufacturer of Corian, created the material in 1967 by combining fine minerals (aluminum hydroxide) with acrylic (acrylmethly methacrylate), which was intended for bathroom and kitchen interior surfaces. Later, keen to expand the applications of their material, Dupont contacted Arad to create a number of works in Corian, including the present model chaise. Due to the nature of the material, Arad was able to work with Corian almost as if it were hardwood, carving out a sculptural piece of functional design. Though Dupont marketed the fact that Corian could be invisibly bonded to itself, Arad playfully layered the material with an adhesive tinted in a contrasting color, which, when carved into the chaise form achieved an undulating wood grain pattern not unlike Japanese mokume.

    “The whole piece is about the layers and the glue. And the glue gives you contours like topographical maps. And I love it when you have a very simple decision and the result you get far exceeds your expectation or far exceeds your design. You get something a lot better.”
    —Ron Arad

    Later versions of Arad’s Void chairs were made using alternating layers of clear and opaque acrylic as well as rotational-molded polyethylene, creating fascinating patterns of light and color. Another example from the present edition belongs to the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

    • Provenance

      Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

    • Literature

      Barry Friedman Ltd., Ron Arad: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1981-2004, New York, 2005, pp. 43, 100
      Ron Arad: No Discipline, exh. cat., Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2008, pp. 122-23
      Paola Antonelli et al., Ron Arad: No Discipline, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2009, p. 110

    • 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

45

"Oh Void 2"

2004
Corian.
28 1/2 x 23 5/8 x 46 1/2 in. (72.4 x 60 x 118.1 cm)
Number 3 from the edition of 6 plus 3 artist's proofs. Edge incised Ron Arad 3 / 6.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$40,000 - 60,000 

Contact Specialist

Benjamin Green
Associate Specialist

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bgreen@phillips.com
+1 917 207 9090

 

Design

New York Auction 7 December 2022