Incollect Magazine - Issue 4

2023 Incollect Magazine 87 Möbius Bench by Pierre Renart Maison Parisienne, Paris The Möbius Bench is French designer Pierre Renart’s first artwork for the outdoors, but it can easily be used indoors as well — a trend in contemporary design in which distinctions between indoor and outdoor furniture are less relevant. Designed in 2020, this elegant, functional teak bench, precise and sensual, has its origins in mathematics; the piece is inspired by the work of mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius and his famous, eponymous geometrical shape. “The Möbius Bench is part of the Ruban (Ribbon) collection,” says Clélia Boissiere from Maison Parisienne. “Giving the illusion of an endless strip of teak wood, the Möbius Bench is altogether very technical, sculptural but also functional as it lends perfectly for all kinds of purposes.” Represented by Maison Parisienne, 32-year-old artist Pierre Renart is a master cabinetmaker, fully in command of his medium and the endless possibilities for manipulating wood into forms seen first as sculpture, which then reveals itself as furniture. His Möbius Bench is ribbon of teak, winding around itself with no beginning and no end, a sculptural metaphor for infinity and perhaps the perfect seat for meditation and inspiration. New Zealand-born Mark Brazier-Jones creates his visionary art at his farm/studio in rural Hertfordshire, one hour north of London, and a million miles away from the ordinary. His work is sought by rock stars, movie stars and art collectors around the world. His Son of Atlantis chair draws upon classical, futuristic and mystical inspirations, and shows his interest in timeless historical motifs. The wings and hoofed legs allude to French Empire furniture which was often embellished with animal- form gilt bronze mounts; the curved rear saber legs were seen in chairs from that period as well, and while undeniably flamboyant, is a comfortable and functional seat. Son of Atlantis Chair by Mark Brazier Jones Mark Brazier-Jones Ltd, Buntingford, England The Son of Atlantis chair, available in bronze (patinated or polished finish) or in aluminum, is an unusual, unique contemporary chair which is actually a reimagining of an earlier limited edition sculptural chair now in the collection of The Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The original design, the Atlantis, sold out almost as soon as it was created in 1988, reinforcing the allure of the design. “Clients kept begging Mark to make more… eventually he conceded adding balls to the feet and allowing it to be an open edition,” a representative for Mark Brazier-Jones Ltd. said, “thus giving all those fans who had lost out on the first incarnation an opportunity to own a piece of sculptural art. In short, it was our clients who told us it was such a wonderfully special and creative piece, and therefore holds a place in our hearts.”

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