Zig Zag Stoel

Gerrit Rietveld

ca. 1937–40 · Elm · Modern and Contemporary Art

Composed of four flat wood boards articulated end to end to form a Z-shape, Rietveld’s chair rejects conventional chair features: two arms, four legs, and a padded seat. Each board joins the next at mathematically precise angles with a bare minimum of supports and nuts and bolts. The piece asserts its inherently linear design and appears to be as much a sculpture as a utilitarian object. Rietveld’s interest in abstract design was rooted in his earlier participation in the avant-garde movement De Stijl, which espoused abstraction as the representation of pure spirit and universal appeal.

Artist

Gerrit Rietveld

Date

ca. 1937–40

Medium

Elm

Department

Modern and Contemporary Art

Credit line

Purchase, J. Stewart Johnson Gift, 2006