Joaquim Belsa

JOAQUIM BELSA ALDEA (Barcelona, 1929-2018).
Bench model 214, Barcelona, ca. 1970.
Solid beech with waxed finish and seat remade in woven wicker.
Measurements: 77.5 x 120 x 48 cm; 38.5 cm (seat height).

Bench model 214 designed by Joaquim Belsa Aldea around 1970, a piece that clearly synthesizes his interest in simple, functional furniture, close to the Mediterranean handcrafted tradition. The structure, in solid beech wood, has clean, robust lines, with cylindrical uprights topped by balls and gently curved upward-curving arms.

The reworked woven wicker seat reinforces the piece's link to natural materials. Its design combines popular references with a modern sensibility, resulting in a bench of great formal balance, warm and representative of Spanish design in the 1970s.

Joaquim Belsa was one of the leading names in Catalan industrial design in the second half of the 20th century. Trained at the Escola de la Llotja in Barcelona, he developed a production marked by formal austerity, the use of durable materials and a functionalist approach aimed at a wide public. In 1961 he founded Aresta with Jaume Belsa and Joan Mañá, a firm active until 1985, and some of his designs were recognized with Delta ADI/FAD awards in 1961, 1963 and 1970.