Frank O. Gehry, Hat Trick Chair for Knoll International

FRANK OWEN GEHRY (Toronto, 1929–California, 2025) for Knoll International.
Chair with armrests, model Hat Trick Chair. Construction of bent maple wood strips, woven into each other. Designed in 1990.
Chair with some marks and signs of use.
Manufactured by Knoll International, USA with brand stamp from here from 1993, from the first production series.
Measurements: 85 x 59 x 56 cm. Seat height 45 cm.

Frank Gehry joined Knoll in 1989 with the idea of creating a new generation of bentwood furniture inspired by the simple bushel basket. After three years of experimentation and exploration, the collection was presented at the exhibition “Frank Gehry: New Furniture Prototypes” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Each piece is named after a hockey term, such as “Power Play,” “Cross Check,” and “Hat Trick.” Drawing inspiration from the surprising durability of the apple crates he played with as a child, Frank Gehry created his entirely original collection of bentwood furniture. The ribbon-like designs transcend stylistic conventions by exploring—as the great modernists did—the essential challenge of deriving form from function.

Frank Gehry was admitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Design to study urban planning. When he returned to Los Angeles, he rejoined Gruen, where he remained until 1960. In 1961, he moved to Paris, where he worked at André Rémondet’s studio. He remained in the French capital for a year, during which time he studied the works of Le Corbusier and other French and European architects, as well as the Romanesque churches found in France. In 1962, Gehry returned to Los Angeles and opened his own architecture firm there. With magnificent buildings such as the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the new Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, Gehry has transformed the nature and spirit of contemporary architecture. However, the world’s most famous living architect has also enjoyed a prolific career as a designer of artistic and functional objects—from furniture to jewelry—that, even on a smaller scale, are as vibrant and captivating as his architectural designs.
In 1972, Gehry introduced a series of corrugated cardboard furniture pieces under the name Easy Edges. The Easy Edges were a huge success and brought Gehry overnight fame as a furniture designer. Frank Gehry has taught at various American art academies, design schools, and universities, and in 2011 he became a professor at the University of Southern California, where he has received several honorary doctorates.