Chair, No. 15,

1984

Donald Judd, one of the key figures in American Minimal Art, was a painter, sculptor, and architect. In the 1970s, he built simple wooden furniture for his own use, which formed the starting point for further furniture designs. While minimalist form certainly constitutes a common denominator in his sculptures and furniture, Judd also clearly pointed out the differences between them: “The configuration and the scale of art cannot be transposed to furniture and architecture. The intent of art is different from that of the latter, which must be functional.”
Judd, impressed by Lehni AG’s precision craftsmanship and technology, first designed metal furniture for this Swiss company in 1984. As a functional object, the No. 15 chair embodies the way in which the entire collection is conceived from basic geometric forms: timeless cuboids of folded aluminum sheet, painted in monochrome hues, have a sculptural flair when positioned in a space. These complex handcrafted pieces are still only made to order. (Sabina Tenti)