As kind on the eyes as it is unkind to the posterior attempting to sit on it, Ram Chair by Andre Dubreuil typifies the hallmarks the French-born designer earned his legendary status with. Dubreuil’s chairs, steel rods twisted and welded into sweeping and elegant forms that intentionally prioritised aesthetics over use, were perhaps mostly unsittable – though Ram Chair has an upholstered, padded drop-in seat. That might be because this design was not a unique piece made by Dubreuil’s own hand, but instead contracted out for commercial sale. The piece was bought for Crafts Council Collection from Viaduct, a furniture retailer with a focus on contemporary design.
Andre’s style earned the name ‘baroque’n’roll’, recognising the ornate and decadent nature of his work, as well as the influence he commanded on the design world at its height. He was an important influence on the British furniture design scene in the 1980s.
Other iterations of Ram Chair remain on auction today, with different manufacturers attributed to them. What kind of home might this chair have graced? What kind of homeowner might have purchased this chair – and would it be sacrilege to use it as a chairdrobe?
Dafydd: “Practically, not the comfiest, but the design is so elegant and well-proportioned. Dubreuil was dubbed poète du fer (poet of iron) by biographer Jean-Louis Gaillemin. The side profile is so smooth, with the sweeping arch of the back legs which curl into the shape of the ram’s horns.”
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