Cloisonné blue chair

Cloisonné Blue Chair, 2017 is from a body of furniture (2017-) designed by Marc Newson, which utilises the metalwork technique of cloisonné. Cloisonné is labour intensive enamelling technique, which employs different coloured vitreous enamel held in place or separated by strips of metal wire or stripes and then kiln fired. This technique dates to the ancient world and is perhaps most famously know in the context of decorative arts produced in East Asia. This body of work reflects Newson's original training as a jeweller; cloisonné is normally used in jewellery and small metalwork objects. Newson had an ambitious idea to upscale this technique into furniture, however struggled to find workshops in China capable of producing this technique on a larger scale. Newson says, '...when I went to China, I couldn't find anyone to do it, ironically the process was almost dying out... So we had to find certain individuals who could recruit and retrain people. We built this factory and got it to a point where we could produce these crazy shapes.... There are 30 people executing steps along the way, doing to enamel.... it's a mad process'. *

The interlocking, blue, red, and yellow patten for Cloisonné Blue Chair is Newson's contemporary take on traditional cloisonné designs, while the form is reminiscent of other chairs produced by Newson including, Random Pak Chair, 2007.

*Anne Sansom, "‘It’s a Mad Process’: Design Legend Marc Newson on Revitalizing the Chinese Art of Cloisonné for His New Works at Gagosian Paris", artnet.com, 26 January 2023

Born in Sydney in 1963, Marc Newson is Australia's most succesful designer and one of the most renowned international designers working today. Known for his iconic, 'Lockheed Lounge' design, which sold for US$4.69 million in 2015, a record for furntiure by a living designer, Newson has developed a highly successful international career over four decades, working across a range of disciplines designing for major international fashion, homeweare, automotive, aviation brands and firms. He has designed everything from luxury handbags, aeroplane suites, cars, weapons, watches, shoes, lighting and even a toilet.

Newson studied jewellery design and sculpture through his Fine Arts degree at The University of Sydney graduating in 1984. In 1986, Newson received a grant from the Australian Crafts Council to produce new work for his first solo exhibition, Seating for Six, Roslyn Oxley Gallery in 1986, which featured the LC1, now in the Gallery's collection. Shortly after he established his Sydney workshop, hand making furniture and time pieces and during this time produced his Super Guppy lamp, 1987 and Embryo chair, 1988. In 1991 he moved to Paris, and later to London in 1997, where he established Marc Newon Ltd. Newson had held senior creative roles with Qantas Airways (2005-2015) and Apple (2014-). He holds a Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art, London and The University of Sydney. His work is held in major collection around the world including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg and Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris among many other major museums.