| Roberto Sebastian Matta
1966
"Malitte" seating elements
Polyurethane foam, fabric cover, blue, violet
H. 160 cm, W. 160 cm, D. 65 cm (stacked)
Manufacturer: Gavina, Foligno, Italy (1966-68)
Knoll International, New York (1968–74)
The design for this unconventional seating system, which allows, indeed encourages flexible interior designs, was the brainchild of the surrealist painter Roberto Sebastian Matta. The individual sculptural elements can be positioned at will in a given space or stacked up as a space saving “object”. As at one and the same time both sculpture and furniture, “Malitte” was one of the first conceptions to totally negate the shape and structure of traditional seating furniture. Not only was the material used, polyurethane foam, new, but also the form of construction, which did without a frame. Matta attempted to come up with shapes that made it possible to use all the material, without any of it being wasted; this produced the four different seating elements and the circular middle section, which was different in color and could be used as a stool. |
