A pencil on paper sketch illustrating three roughly drawn eliptical forms as a preparatory for a chair design. In the top left the form takes a horizontal teardrop shape which is striped and has a semi-circular arch across it. In the bottom left the form is eliptical in shape with a three-dimensionality suggesting a shallow-backed chair with three thin legs, two at the back and one curved at the front. In the bottom right the form appears almost a mirror image of the bottom left form, but with the eliptical upper shape thinner and the suggestion of three further ovals protruding from the back, two vertical and one horizontal. In the bottom right corner, the artist's initials [JW] are drawn in script.

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Object Timeline

-0001	We photographed this object.
2007	Work on this object began.
2014	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2015	We acquired this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2017	We exhibited this object. Work on this object ended.
2024	You found it!

Drawing, Preparatory Sketch for Enignum Free Form Chair

This is a Drawing. It was designed by Joseph Walsh. It is dated ca. 2012 and we acquired it in 2015. Its medium is graphite on white wove paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Irish designer Joseph Walsh has been creating pieces in his Enignum series since 2011. The title borrows from the Latin for “mystery” (Enigma) and “wood” Lignum, which Walsh feels captures the overriding principle of his designs: “the mystery of the composition lies in the material.” Walsh begins his designs by taking single pieces of olive ash and stripping the thick slab of wood into thin layers. He allows the wood itself to guide his forms, and then turns to his sketchbook to consider how the piece might work as a piece of furniture. For his design Enignum Free Form Chair, Walsh used pencil and paper to help refine to proportions and form of the bench. These loose and elegantly rendered drawings elucidate an important step in Walsh’s design process.

This object was donated by Joseph Walsh. It is credited Gift of Joseph Walsh.

A pencil on paper sketch illustrating two roughly drawn eliptical forms, one above another, as a prepartatory for a chair design. The top form takes the shape of an elongated bean with sinuous lines forming stripes across it, and the right and left-most cuves accentuated with longer arcs. The bottom form has a horizontal teardrop shape, bulbous on the left side drawn to a fine point on the right side, with four legs protruding from it, two from the bulbous left and two on the right, one in an arc over the point, the other from the center-right forming a triangular shape. in the bottom right corner, the artist's initials [JW] are drawn in script.

Drawing, Preparatory Sketch for Enignum Free Form Chair
graphite on white wove paper.
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-4

A model for a low two-seater sofa is made of natural light ash wood whose frame is a contiguous curved form connecting its back to its three legs and base with no apparent breaks. It has a beige suede textile covering its tight upholstered seat with several subtle folds/tucks on the surface mimicking the wavy shape of the overall wood frame design. A single plank of arched smooth wood forms one front leg continuing and bending gracefully like a ribbon to establish a low open back and extends on a slope to become the second front leg. There is a solitary leg in the rear. When facing the model (piece of furniture), the front is angled and oblong in length. A technique of splitting the wood into thin long slices and then bending it gives some insight into designer’s process of using multiple layers to create the sinuous skeletal frame-like structure. Aptly named Enignum ,a play on the word enigma—mysterious, puzzling, leaves the observer questioning how this unique piece was made

Enignum Chair Model (two Seater)
bent layered ash wood strips, suede upholstery.
Gift of Joseph Walsh.
2015-39-3

Poster, Tropon est l'aliment le plus concentré (Tropon, the most concentrated food supplement)

Poster, Tropon est l'aliment le plus concentré (Tropon, the most...
lithograph on wove paper, lined.
Museum purchase through gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lee S. Ainslie III, Marilyn....
2007-2-1

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

DCM Side Chair
molded laminated plywood, bent tubular steel, metal, molded rubber.
Gift of Olive Emslie.
1990-112-2

Its dimensions are

H x W: 29.5 × 41.9 cm (11 5/8 × 16 1/2 in.)

It is signed

Signed in graphite, lower right: JW

Cite this object as

Drawing, Preparatory Sketch for Enignum Free Form Chair; Designed by Joseph Walsh (Irish, b. 1979); graphite on white wove paper; H x W: 29.5 × 41.9 cm (11 5/8 × 16 1/2 in.); Gift of Joseph Walsh; 2015-39-5

We have 1 video that features Drawing, Preparatory Sketch for Enignum Free Form Chair.

Joseph Walsh: Enignum Chair Process

Irish designer Joseph Walsh's studio, where the Enignum Chair is made.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Making | Breaking: New Arrivals.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/75kn4/
Accession Number 2015-39-5
Object ID 68744561