CHAIRFIX
18 September – 23 October 2003
The Aram Gallery is pleased to present Chairfix. Combining fashion, graffiti and furniture design in a refreshingly straightforward way, the Chairfix chair by Ben Wilson is snapped out of a flat plywood panel, reminiscent of airfix models. The parts fit together without any glue or fixings and become a sturdy chair, stool or bench, depending on the surface panel design.
The chair’s clever design allows for the product to be bought flat and constructed by the buyer into an elegant stable seat, leaving an interesting cut out panel.
For this exhibition Ben Wilson approached ten artists (many of them with commercial and international acclaim) to add artwork to the plywood panels. This give the objects a double life, first as a flat panel piece of art and then in the unexpected combinations that occur when the parts are assembled.
The exhibition at The Aram Gallery included 10 artworked chairs, a few plain chairs and developments of a stool and bench. The products were accompanied by a short movie showing how the chair is made using a computerised cutting machine that glides around the plywood panel, cutting out the parts but leaving them connected by mini bridges.