Óscar Tusquets for BD Barcelona

ÓSCAR TUSQUETS I BLANCA (Barcelona, 1941) for BD Barcelona.
“Catalano” Bench, 1978.
Unfolded, perforated metal sheet lacquered in yellow.
In very good condition. Relacado.
Measurements: 87 x 200 x 75 cm; 35 cm (seat height).
Designed by Óscar Tusquets Blanca in 1978 for BD Barcelona Design, the “Catalano” bench reflects a desire to transcend the boundaries between furniture, architecture, and sculpture—a recurring theme in the Catalan designer’s work. Conceived during one of the most innovative periods in Spanish design, the bench combines a rigorous functional approach with a marked formal expressiveness, moving away from strict rationalism to incorporate references to Italian design and the emerging postmodern language. The Catalano model is part of the founding era of BD Barcelona, a firm that played a decisive role in the internationalization of Spanish design from the late 1970s onward, producing works by some of the most prominent creators on the European scene.
Óscar Tusquets trained at the Escuela de La Lonja in Barcelona and at the ETSAB. In 1964, he founded Studio PER alongside Lluís Clotet, with whom he collaborated regularly until 1984. During this period, he participated in the expansion of the Barcelona School of Medicine (1980) and the renovation of the Palau de la Música Catalana (1982). He has been awarded the FAD’s Delta de Oro prize on several occasions, and in 1987 he received the Cross of Sant Jordi.