Four Knoll Designs are among the 300 aluminum objects chosen for the Carnegie Museum of Art’s exhibition, Aluminum by Design with the catchy title of Jewelry to Jets, in Pittsburgh. Just over 300 pieces were chosen for this exhibition, which opens late October to mid-February 2001. Exhibition also includes such unique items as a 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost automobile, a centerpiece created for Emperor Napoleon III in 1858 and the Berenice Tiara of 1899. The history of aluminum is fully explored in a design timeline of this metal and the objects it has inspired from the 1850s to the present. With advancements in development technology, aluminum is now the most widely used metal in the world and one of the most versatile.
Three of Knoll’s products that part of the museum’s permanent collection are Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s 1953 Barcelona chair, Jorge Pensi’s 1989 Toledo chair, and Frank Gehry’s newly released FOG chair. Also represented is Eero Saarinen’s 1956 Tulip chair. The Barcelona chair is of special note, since it was first designed in steel in 1929, but manufactured in aluminum in 1953 by special commission for the Alcoa Building in Pittsburgh. Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of aluminum and a major sponsor of this exhibit.
From officeinsight
