Constantin Grcic, Stool-One stool
After training in furniture making at Parnham College in England, Konstantin Grcic studied design at the Royal College of Art in London from 1988 to 1990. There he met two designers who would prove pivotal to his subsequent work: Jasper Morrison and Vico Magistretti. Following his studies, he joined Jasper Morrison's studio and then, in 1991, founded his own firm in Munich: Konstantin Grcic, Industrial Design (KGID). He has worked for both design publishers (Iittala, Magis, Moroso, Flos, etc.) and manufacturers (Krups, Whirlpool).
Influenced by Jasper Morrison, whose student and collaborator he was, Grcic favored a functionalist approach to design: he described his style as "current, feasible, and practical." The May Day lamp is emblematic of Grcic's approach. Its design is simple and elegant while fulfilling a range of needs: it can be carried, placed on a surface, or hung; the handle serves both as a winder for the cable and as a hook for hanging.
His creations have a radical, raw edge. "In the field of art, I like a radical, pure, direct, simple style, not just minimalist. I like artists who have a certain attitude and who go straight to the heart of the matter, like Carl Andre, Ed Ruscha, Bruce Newman, and Dan Flavin." This results in creations like the Miura stool with its sharp lines or the Chair One in cast aluminum, which is reduced to a stripped-down, linear structure.
Some of Grcic's creations are part of the collections of MoMA and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He was also awarded a Compasso d'Or for the Mayday Lamp in 2001 and for the Myto Chair in 2011.
Stool-One chrome-plated aluminum stool
Designer: Constantin Grirc
Publisher: Magis
Dimensions: 84 x 56 x 47.5 cm