Prototype coffee table by Robert Klippel
Object No. 94/256/1
This is a rare surviving example of artist Robert Klippel's (1920-2001) sculptural modernist modular furniture. Designed to be cut from a single piece of plywood, it's elegantly-shaped interlocking curvilinear legs and oval-shaped top are constructed to be both functional and affordable. The piece reveals Klippel's familiarity with abstraction, surrealism and the 'less is more' principal of functional modernist design which he encountered while studying and travelling in Europe between 1947 and 1950. Anne-Marie Van de ven, Curator, 2018 Reference: Van de Ven, Anne-Marie, "The sort of thing I wanted to do I did on my own": the form studies, furniture and 1950s design work of Australian abstract artist and industrial designer, Robert Klippel, Form/Work, Interdisciplinary journal of design and the built environment, No 2, April 1998, University of Technology, Sydney, 1998.
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Summary
Object Statement
Coffee table, plywood prototype, Robert Klippel, Sydney, Australia, 1954
Physical Description
Stained plywood coffee table, comprising tabletop and 2 interlocking leg pieces.
DIMENSIONS
Height
370 mm
Width
510 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
The design is quite distinctive - rather than producing a simple support to the table top, Klippel devised an elegantly shaped interlocking base comprising two curvilinear forms. The table is designed to be cut from a single sheet of timber.
HISTORY
Notes
Harry Boyd and his wife Zuma Boyd's friendship with Robert Klippel dates back to the early 1940s. Harry Boyd posed for the sculpture 'Opus 24' in 1946. The table has been in the Boyd's possession for many years. When Harry Boyd died (early 1990s?), Zuma Boyd continued to maintain contact with the artist.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Purchased 1994
Acquisition Date
5 December 1994
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