From Apple to aircraft – rock star Australian industrial designer turns to traditional Chinese cloisonné
- Marc Newson’s portfolio includes the Apple Watch and a lounger that is the most expensive object by a living designer
- His new collection of furniture includes armchairs produced at a cloisonne factory he rebuilt near Beijing
Marc Newson made headlines in 2006 when his Lockheed Lounge became the most expensive object created by a living designer, a record it has broken three times. Most recently, in 2015, it sold for more than 2.4 million pounds (US$3 million).
The curvy, aluminium chair, meant to evoke “a globule of mercury”, is one of many rounded hourglass designs in his diverse portfolio that includes the retro-futurist Qantas first-class lounge in Sydney and high-profile collaborations with Apple’s Jony Ive, beginning with the Apple Watch.
So how did the rock star designer come to use traditional Chinese cloisonné – a technique for decorating metalwork objects – for his new collection of furniture?
“I had a particular interest in cloisonné as I trained as a jeweller and silversmith. It’s one of these mad, esoteric skill sets that only really still exists in China, and only barely [does],” says Australian-born Newson.
He scoured the country for the skills required, eventually deciding to rebuild a cloisonné factory near Beijing for production of the desks, armchairs and lounge chairs that will headline the designer’s upcoming solo exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York, his first in 10 years.