Re-inventing the Wheel

Re-inventing the Wheel

 

We are pleased to be offering a version of the RTW (Re-inventing the wheel) bookcase in our upcoming Design sale, designed in 1996, this version is made in aluminium and measures 130cm diameter x 30cm deep. The 'RTW' (Re-inventing the wheel) bookcase was initially produced in a limited edition of twenty, each bearing an edition number. An additional five artist’s proofs were produced. The cases were available in two sizes, 180cm and 130cm diameter, with a surface finish of either polished stainless steel or patinated carbon steel. Due to the complexities of production, a simpler design of the bookcase was produced for Hidden of the Netherlands, with some being in limited editions. A number of these, such as the bookcase featured in this sale, were produced without edition details and were made in aluminium. The aluminium versions were produced in a limited number, the run consisting of approximately twenty-five pieces. All were of the 130cm diameter size.

 

Ron Arad was born in 1951 in Tel Aviv, the son of two artists. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem from 1971 to 1973, before moving to London in 1973, studying architecture at the Association School of Architecture from 1974 to 1979. After graduation he started a design company called One-Off with Caroline Thormann which morphed into Ron Arad Associates in 1989, in parallel with this in 2008 he began Ron Arad Architects and started to manage larger design projects.

 

He has been awarded various awards for his contribution to design and architecture and was made a Royal Academician in 2013, after working as a Professor of Design products at the Royal Academy of Art between 1997 and 2009. The first design that bought him international recognition was the Rover chair, conceived in 1981, which united the seat of a Rover P6 found in a scrap yard with parts of a stool held together with a Kee Clamp system. Other designs which have achieved similar acclaim include the Big Easy Volume II chair (1988) and the Large Bookworm shelf(1993). 

 

The designs of Ron Arad have been a part of the enormous success of the continually developing Design and Contemporary Design department here at Chiswick Auctions, numbering amongst some of the more interesting pieces produced by this ever-popular auction.The Modern Design sale of the 29th April 2021 saw the sale of a Voido rocking chair manufactured by Magis, designed in 2006 for £525 (including buyer’s premium). Whilst in the April 2017 edition we sold a Horn dining table manufactured by one off, designed in 1985, for £3,400 (including buyer’s premium). The glass top and steel support perfectly illustrated Arad’s early influences from industrial design, mirrored in the conception of the Rover chair.

 

 

 

 Our Design & Modern Contemporary Auction is taking place on Thursday 27 January at 10am. Explore our Online Catalogue here

 

Mark Longley

General Valuer
Interiors, Homes & Antiques 

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