Collection
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Decorative Arts and Design

Ottomon, Power Play

Frank Gehry; Knoll Group

1 of 2

Caption

Frank Gehry (American, born 1929); Knoll Group. Ottomon, Power Play, ca. 1991. Laminated maple, 8 1/8 x 23 3/8 x 23 3/8 in. (20.6 x 59.4 x 59.4 cm) 13 7/8 in. 935.5 cm) with legs extended. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Andrew Cogan, 1993.71.2.

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Ottomon, Power Play

Date

ca. 1991

Medium

Laminated maple

Classification

(not assigned)

Dimensions

8 1/8 x 23 3/8 x 23 3/8 in. (20.6 x 59.4 x 59.4 cm) 13 7/8 in. 935.5 cm) with legs extended

Signatures

no signature

Inscriptions

no inscriptions

Markings

on underside of Ottoman printed "No59", and branded "Frank Gehry (facsimile signature)/K[N]OLL, "MADE IN US[A] /2/19/9[3]"

Credit Line

Gift of Andrew Cogan

Accession Number

1993.71.2

Frequent Art Questions

  • I'd like to know of works that this chair influenced/was influenced by. Could you give me some references please? Thank you.

    Yes, I would be happy to! This chair is by the architect Frank Gehry and was designed in 1991. The "Power Play" chair is made of bent sheets of laminated maple. The designer was influenced by a long tradition of bent wood and laminate furniture. One of the most influential creators of bentwood furniture was Michael Thonet. Thonet (who was working in Austria) began bending wood using hot steam in the 1830s.. We have a beautiful rocking chair by him on view on the fourth floor.
    Thank you so much! I'll go to check the rocking chair by Thonet too.
    Great! Another very influential maker of bent plywood furniture can be seen in the Luce Center, nearby. Ray and Charles Eames are a husband and wife team who built a machine for molding plywood in their garage. They called the machine the Kazam! machine. During World War I they used their machine to make molded plywood leg splints to help injured soldiers. After the war they made chairs, including their famous lounge chair. Both the chair and the leg splint are on view in the Luce Center.
    Thanks for so much information!

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

Artists and makers

Frank Gehry

5 works in the collection

Knoll Group

3 works in the collection