Charismatically curved - from Danhauser to Zaha Hadid: the design auction on 9 May at the Dorotheum in Vienna

Modern, unadorned form is not a 20th century discovery. The bringing together of simplicity and function – a modernist, almost minimalist element, can be seen for example in designs from the Biedermeier period. For this reason, the design expert at Dorotheum, Gerti Draxler, has also included some outstanding examples of very early design in her auction on 9 May 2007 at Dorotheum in Vienna.Although at the time he didn’t use the term “Design”, the round “Tea table No. 19” by Josef Danhauser, Vienna, fits perfectly in this auction (estimate 7.000 - 9.000 €). The table dates from around 1815/20 and is the oldest item in the generally very contemporary range of works on offer.

On this occasion there is a striking presence of many design objects and above all rare prototypes from the past decade. If one is still sure about the stylistic characteristics of the 80s, the precise concept of the 90s and the early years of the new millennium is harder to define. Despite all the differences Gerti Draxler establishes certain points in common: “In most pieces there are echoes of the radical design of the 60s and 70s, but with a much more objective approach to all available (new) materials”. So for example we have Craig Morrison’s mouth-shaped Knobbed-Sofa made of grey latex, in which fetish design is taken very literally. This “MTV-Sofa” was created in 1990 and was produced in just three pieces and in various colours (7.000 - 9.000 €).Karim Rashid’s three pop seating element are made of soft synthetic materials, including one which resembles a blue seating sausage with pink cushions (“Superblob”-Sofa, 2001, 4.000 - 6.000 €).

“Poor” materials such as cardboard are used by the Brazilian brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana. Designed in 2001 for Edra/Italy the “Papel”-Screens-Sofas and Chair are made of cardboard, metal and leather – this is a small series only produced until 2003 (Pair of screens 32.000 - 38.000 €).Also for Edra, Flavia Alves de Souza devised the “Pororoca”-Lounge-Chair with stool in 2001. The steel construction and the artfully woven material transform the seat almost into a piece of couture (3.800 - 4200 €).
The boundaries between fine arts, architecture and design are fluid. This is especially in evidence in the work of the British artist Danny Lane, who is known for his monumental sculptures of layered glass. His massive “Broken Bench”, a glass and steel bench, which looks as though it is broken, and his “Etruscan Chair”, both created in 2004 are especially striking pieces (45.000 – 50.000 and 12.000 - 13.000 €).

In previous years Lane also created objects together with another designer, also extremely popular in the Dorotheum auctions: with Ron Arad he produced two Tables, the one here made of aluminium and broken glass is a one-off piece (“Console-Table”, 18.000 - 25.000 €).From Arad himself comes for example the shaped steel Mini-Cartier-Table from 1998 and an early Double-Rover-Chair. On the subject of the new production conditions and materials in design, the London-based Arad states: “There are practically no more limits. Intelligent materials and tools; production methods like something out of science fiction – it’s all there. Now.”

Chairs are also well represented in this auction with rare examples of 20th century design such as Gerrit Rietveld’s Zig Zag-chair in black (14.000 - 18.000 €) or a major piece of Czech functionalism, a perfectly conserved steel rod piece, the “Sieste-Fauteuil” by Ladislav Zak, Prague 1930/31 (10.000 - 15.000 €).From a mini-series comes the “Mobile Totale” by Ammanati/Vitelli, 1965 designed for Albizzante/Italy and exhibited a year later at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. This piece which extends to a maximum 3.2 x 2.3 meters is made of white laminated wood and comes with integrated bed, guest bed, wardrobe, work table, cooking area, book shelf, music and light. A living unit for three people, estimated at between 9.000 and 12.000 Euros.

Another key feature of this auction is lighting. This includes some especially charming kinetic objects from the 1960s up to the present day, with for example a Light stele by Siegfried Kreitner which alters when the observer breathes on it, or the Light sculpture “Vortexx” by Zaha Hadid. The latter is a highlight in the original sense, as well as a highlight in terms of price at an estimated 100.000 to 150.000 Euros, which won the 2006 European design prize “Lights of the Future”. “The charismatically curved contours are reminiscent of a double helix and appear to the observer as something in constant flux – weightless, impulsive and gleaming,” states the architect about the piece created in conjunction with Patrick Schuhmacher, of which there are currently three examples. “Design is the full experience of existence”, says Karim Rashid boldly. No doubt a perfect credo for the forthcoming auction.

	"Papel-screens-Sofas" Fernando & Humberto Campana
	"Console Table", Danny Lane & Ron Arad
	Zig Zag-Chair, Gerrit Rietveld
	"Mobile-Totale" Ammanati/Vitelli
	Press Information
	Knobbed sofa by Craig Morrison