Philippe Starck

PHILIPPE STARCK (Paris, 1949) for Santa and Cole.
Pair of armchairs Model "Len Niggelman", 1985.
Fabric upholstery and original fabric cover.
Aluminum alloy legs.
Condition 9/10.
Measurements: 90 x 70 x 65 cm.

Pair of contemporary design armchairs characterized by compact and enveloping volumes, conceived as pieces of great formal presence and high comfort. The Len Niggelman model is part of Philippe Starck's most experimental phase during the 1980s, a period in which the French designer explores new typologies of domestic furniture through emphatic forms, sculptural proportions and a clear desire for synthesis between functionality and expression.

The design rises on truncated conical legs made of aluminum alloy, a deliberate contrast between the textile mass and the visual lightness of the metal, a common resource in Starck's work to reinforce the balance between comfort and modernity. Published by Santa & Cole in 1985, these armchairs reflect the firm's role as a disseminator of international contemporary design in the Spanish context.

Starck studied at the École Nissim de Camondo in Paris. While working for Adidas, Starck created his first industrial design company, Starck Product, which he later renamed Ubik, after the Philip K. Dick novel, and began working with manufacturers in Italy, Alessi, Kartell and internationally, including Drimmer in Austria, Vitra in Switzerland and Disform in Spain. In 1983, then French President François Mitterrand, on the recommendation of his Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, chose Starck to renovate the president's private apartments at the Elysée Palace.