Jordi Vilanova, Billiard stool

JORDI VILANOVA I BOSCH (Barcelona, 1925-1998).
Stool "Billiards".
Pine wood and bulrush.
Measurements: 40 x 40 x 40 cm.

Jordi Vilanova's "Billar" stool, designed in 1961, is a piece of great sobriety and formal clarity, conceived from a pine wood structure with straight lines and contained proportions, combined with a bulrush seat that provides warmth and texture. Its construction, direct and without artifice, emphasizes structural logic by means of straight legs and crossbeams that reinforce its stability, without resorting to decorative elements. The design synthesizes in an exemplary way the modern reinterpretation of traditional Mediterranean furniture, characteristic of Vilanova, where craftsmanship, functionality and formal purification converge in an essential, balanced and timeless object.

The name "Billiards" is related to the idea of straight, elongated legs that evoke billiard sticks, a subtle reference that reinforces its verticality and structural clarity in the versions with backrest.

Catalan interior designer and cabinetmaker, Jordi Vilanova entered the Escuela de Trabajo y Oficios Artísticos de la Lonja in 1939. He completed his training in the workshop of Busquets, and between 1940 and 1953 he collaborated in the studio of Lluís Gili. Jordi Vilanova was founder and promoter of the Catalan art magazine "Questions d'Art" (1967-74). In 1974 he opened premises with a permanent exhibition of furniture and upholstery of his own design, forming part of the Official College of Interior Decorators and Designers of Barcelona and the SAD. His modern furniture and his way of resolving spaces were initially aimed at a large public of limited economic resources and, consequently, homes with less living space. However, this great majority did not understand his proposal. Instead, it was the Catalan bourgeoisie, eager to break with outdated stylistic canons, who embraced his work. His specialty was furniture for children, such as the Delta stool, which won the Delta de Plata Prize awarded by the ADI/FAD in 1964. He held exhibitions of his work in Scandinavia. Among his most representative designs are the Tiracord and Billar chairs (1961), the Montseny MP bunk bed (1961), the Tartera (1966) and Petit (1978) rocking chairs and the Z magazine rack (1987) designed together with his son Pau Vilanova Vila-Abadal. It is currently represented in the Design Museum of Barcelona.