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Frank Gehry — 6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes
Frank Gehry — 6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes
Frank Gehry — 6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes
Frank Gehry — 6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes
Frank Gehry

6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes

1989

Six Polaroid photographs taken in 1989 at Gehry's California studio document an intimate and rarely seen moment in the development of one of the most celebrated furniture collections of the late twentieth century. The images capture prototype iterations of the Knoll bentwood series, the sinuous, sculptural furniture line that Gehry designed using interwoven strips of maple to create forms that blur the boundary between furniture and freestanding sculpture. Preserved in mint condition and never published, these photographs exist outside the official record of the project, granting them an exceptional documentary and historical value that finished production pieces simply cannot offer. Gehry's bentwood furniture for Knoll, which debuted commercially in 1992, is now recognized as a landmark contribution to American design, and the studio prototyping process captured here reflects the exploratory, hands-on methodology that defined Gehry's practice across architecture and design alike. Polaroids served as working tools in studios of this era, functioning as quick visual records of three-dimensional forms in progress, and that directness gives these images a candid, unmediated quality distinct from formal product photography. The fact that these six frames have remained unpublished adds a layer of provenance significance, as they represent primary source material on a design that has since entered museum collections worldwide. Presented as a framed group and signed by Gehry, this work appeals equally to serious design historians and collectors drawn to the intersection of architectural process and photographic documentation. The modest scale of each print, combined with the immediacy of the Polaroid medium, makes the suite feel personal rather than monumental, a quality that suits the subject perfectly given that the bentwood prototypes themselves were exercises in tactile, intimate craftsmanship. Few artifacts from this chapter of Gehry's career have surfaced with this level of context intact.

Medium
Polaroid
Overall
Signed
Yes

For Sale — $5500

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About this work

Frank Gehry, 6- Polaroid's, Knoll Bent Wood ProtoTypes , 1989

Six Polaroid photographs taken in 1989 at Gehry's California studio document an intimate and rarely seen moment in the development of one of the most celebrated furniture collections of the late twentieth century. The images capture prototype iterations of the Knoll bentwood series, the sinuous, sculptural furniture line that Gehry designed using interwoven strips of maple to create forms that blur the boundary between furniture and freestanding sculpture. Preserved in mint condition and never published, these photographs exist outside the official record of the project, granting them an exceptional documentary and historical value that finished production pieces simply cannot offer. Gehry's bentwood furniture for Knoll, which debuted commercially in 1992, is now recognized as a landmark contribution to American design, and the studio prototyping process captured here reflects the exploratory, hands-on methodology that defined Gehry's practice across architecture and design alike. Polaroids served as working tools in studios of this era, functioning as quick visual records of three-dimensional forms in progress, and that directness gives these images a candid, unmediated quality distinct from formal product photography. The fact that these six frames have remained unpublished adds a layer of provenance significance, as they represent primary source material on a design that has since entered museum collections worldwide. Presented as a framed group and signed by Gehry, this work appeals equally to serious design historians and collectors drawn to the intersection of architectural process and photographic documentation. The modest scale of each print, combined with the immediacy of the Polaroid medium, makes the suite feel personal rather than monumental, a quality that suits the subject perfectly given that the bentwood prototypes themselves were exercises in tactile, intimate craftsmanship. Few artifacts from this chapter of Gehry's career have surfaced with this level of context intact.

Medium
Polaroid
Dimensions
overall: 61 x 45.7 cm
Year
1989
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
VINCE fine arts/ephemera

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Collected by

Alex Capecelatro