Talented artist Matthew Day Jackson presented his latest project during Furniture Design Week in Milan. The Kohlo chair with armrests was inspired by the lunar surface. The high-quality piece of furniture, together with the dining table from the same series, was designed and manufactured in collaboration with the Finnish company “Made by Choice”. The material Jackson uses for his Kohlo chair is Formica laminated plywood.
Innovative chair with armrest: The “Kohlo” furniture series
Jackson, who traditionally makes his furniture from Formica laminate, decided to visit his supplier's factory in 2018 out of curiosity. There he happened to meet Niclas Ahlström, the owner of the Finnish furniture company “Made by Choice”. The two decided to launch a furniture series together and commissioned Formica with the task of producing a high-pressure laminate with a surface similar to the moon relief. Formica developed steel press plates specifically for this order, with which a structured laminate could be produced. The inspiration for the project was satellite images that NASA published almost 40 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Sculptural shape and a structured surface
But it's not just the surface of the material, the chair construction also evokes associations with the moon. The sinuous shapes of the chair legs and armrests were inspired by the lunar crater Dionysius and the rectangular backrest by the spaceship Appolo 11. The exciting contrasts between the strict geometric and curvy lines of the “Kohlo” chair make the modern piece of furniture a real eye-catcher. A total of four different versions of chairs and tables were presented in Milan. The pieces of furniture are available in a wood look, in a pink color, in a grass green shade and in black.
Matthew Day Jackson has long been fascinated by the first moon landing. He finds the reasons behind the first flight to the moon particularly interesting: At that time, the drive to colonize was in the foreground. People wanted to conquer space. At the same time, humanity was looking for answers to existential questions. In any case, the artist is of the opinion that we have to turn within ourselves in order to be able to answer these existential questions.
The furniture is onMade by Choiceavailable.
