See more objects with the tag furniture, seating, wood, irregular.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1999

  • Work on this object began.

2016

2024

  • You found it!

Slice Armchair Armchair

This is a Armchair. It was designed by Mathias Bengtsson and produced by Mathias Bengtsson Studio. It is dated 1999. Its medium is plywood. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Matthias Bengtsson designed the Slice chair in 1998, while a student at the Royal College of Art in London. Exploring the relationship between high tech manufacturing methods and the hand-made, his creative process combined cutting-edge production techniques with craft. Bengtsson first modeled the sculptural form by hand in clay. He then used a computer to scan the complex structure and digitally slice the image into thin horizontal layers. Next, he used the data to devise a computer program to drive a precision laser-cutter, creating the hundreds of 3mm-thick horizontal plywood slices of the chair, each one a unique shape. He then assembled and glued the slices by hand to form the layers of the chair. The result is a contoured form that resembles geographical strata or a topographical map, and blends the organic and mechanical. Combining digital and labor-intensive handcrafting techniques Bengtsson has also created versions of the chair not just in plywood but in aluminum, paper, and foam as well.

This object was donated by George R. Kravis II. It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.

  • S Chair Chair
  • recycled automobile rubber tire inner tube, steering wheel, welded steel (frame).
  • 2006-4-2
  • China Chair
  • cherry wood, leather.
  • Gift of the Danish Government.
  • 1976-117-1-a,b
  • Design
  • Gift of Ken Friedman.
  • 1997-19-135-6

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 78.7 × 93.3 × 81.3 cm (31 in. × 36 3/4 in. × 32 in.)

Cite this object as

Slice Armchair Armchair; Designed by Mathias Bengtsson (Danish, b. 1971); Produced by Mathias Bengtsson Studio; plywood; H x W x D: 78.7 × 93.3 × 81.3 cm (31 in. × 36 3/4 in. × 32 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-63

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/404734457/ |title=Slice Armchair Armchair |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>