Vitra Editions Special Auction

The first Vitra Edition in 1987 offered participating architects and designers the freedom to realise their own ideas and to develop experimental furniture objects. They were encouraged to explore freely: the choice of materials, techniques, applications and formal approaches remained entirely open. There was no initial requirement for the results to become part of the regular Vitra product range. At the same time, designers had full access to Vitra’s technical expertise.

Working without market- or production-driven constraints led to surprising solutions at the intersection of design and art. Some of the edition pieces remained unique artistic works, while others were produced in limited series.

And the Pretzel Chair is an icon from the 1950s, which Vitra later reissued as a limited edition.

Produced only in small quantities, they are now highly sought-after collector’s items.

The collector’s pieces

Squashed by Sticks and Stones - Ron Arad

Ron Arad (born 1951 in Tel Aviv; lives and works in London) originally built the metal-crushing machine *Sticks and Stones* for the *Nouvelles Tendances* exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 1987. The machine ‘eats’ metal chairs and objects, then spits them back out as compressed cubes. The objects travel upward on a conveyor belt before falling into a hydraulic press, where they are crushed.

  • Bale 16

    - Sold -

  • Bale 17

    - Sold -

  • Bale 20

    - Sold -

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