Ash Allen — History Chair, 2022

History Chair is an experimentation with galvanised steel mesh, exploring its inherent strength and malleability, as well as its potential or shadow-play. The more the mesh chair is sat on, the more it softens and becomes broken-in. Its patina is its load history, and the heavier the weight, the greater the mark. The flocked royal blue mesh is reminiscent of quilting and opulence, ironically chosen for its associations with royalty. However, this cage is to be sat on and enjoyed by all. The chair is faux regal; hollow and without substance .

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Ash Allen is a furniture maker and designer based in Naarm/Melbourne. His design practice is rooted in sustainability where his concept-based work is engineered to have a minimal eco footprint. He has a distinctly clean, functional resolution to his design practice, and alongside his formal approach, he undertakes investigations through play. Ash graduated from a combined Bachelor Engineering (Mech) and Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of Melbourne in 1996. In 2011 he complited an Associate Degree in Furniture Design from RMIT.

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The Chair 

Anna Varendorff, Ash Allen, Ashley Eriksmoen, Bern Chandley, Bonhula Yunupingu & Damien Wright, Brodie Neill, Brud Studia, Cordon Salon, Dean Norton, Duncan Young & Noah Hartley, Georgia Weitenberg, Isabel Avendano-Hazbun, James Lemon, Jess Humpston, Jill Stevenson, Johnny Nargoodah & Trent Jansen, Nicole Lawrence & Thomas Coward, Liam Mugavin, Marta Figueiredo, Michael Gittings, Sam Tomkins, Iain [Max] Maxwell & Ben Ennis-Butler, Trent Jansen for Broached Monsters by Broached Commissions, Two Lines Studio, Zachary Frankel.

Read more about The Chair here

'The Chair' exhibition is the first in a series presented by Craft Victoria honouring iconic objects of functional craft and design with a material driven approach.

Material:  powder coated galvanised steel

Dimensions:  approx. 55 x 45 x 90 cm

Available to order on 8 week lead time, please enquire with the team at Craft for details shop@craft.org.au or call +61 3 9650 7775