NY Chair
Object NameChair
Artist / Maker
Takeshi Nii (Japanese, 1920-2007)
Date1958-1969
MediumCanvas (100% cotton), beech wood and steel piping
Dimensions33 × 24 × 18 in. (83.8 × 61 × 45.7 cm)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineGift of Geitel Winakor. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object numberUM2007.74
Status
Not on viewCollections
Label TextThe design of the NY Chair is based on the familiar director's chair. The chair is named after the designer's name Nii, also the Danish word for fresh or new. The designer wanted to create a chair suitable for relaxation after a lovely meal-a place to nap, think, and enjoy one's surroundings-perhaps in solitude.
The designer's passion for chairs began prior to World War II when he saw a director's chair. Later, while repeating tests for functional chairs, Nii saw a beautiful chair with a fabric seat from Denmark. Inspired by these chairs, Nii produced this folding chair (designed in 1958) which won numerous awards and became a permanent feature at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. This versatile chair tucks away, folding to just five inches in width for storage.
PeriodMid Century Modern
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Brunnier Art Museum
