IPERBOLICA Collection Armchairs by Alessandro Ciffo
The IPERBOLICA Collection of Armchairs (2011) is the latest in a series of armchairs that Alessandro Ciffo started designing/creating since 2008 while experimenting with silicone as a raw material. In total, the Collection consists of 11 armchairs, each of them being unique. The first 10 chairs are dedicated/named after a great artist, with patterns and colors characteristic of their respective creations and artistic style: ANSELM (Kiefer), CLAUDE (Monet), ETTORE (Sottsass), JASON (Martin), JEAN-MICHEL (Basquiat), JOAN (Mirò), MARK (Rothko), MICHELANGELO (Buonarroti), VICTOR (Vasarely), WILLEM (De Kooning) while the last chair is named ALE (after Alessandro Ciffo himself – a ‘cheeky’ reference).
The IPERBOLICA Collection of Armchairs was presented, for the first time, at the Triennale di Milano 2012(Fuorisalone – Milano Design Week 2012) in a collaboration of the artist with the Dilmos Milano Gallery and Secondome Design Gallery and curated by Loredana Parmesani, Carla Berioli, Luisella Valtorta (see relevant video below by renowned photographer Emilio Tremolada).
All chairs are made of silicone mixed with natural colored pigments and filled with elastic polyurethane foam (as opposed to the designer’s previous armchairs which were air-filled) which makes them more stable both in terms of time and in terms of use and, at the same time, keeps them soft and cozy.
In this next video the artist explains the process of making the IPERBOLICA armchairs (by photographer Max Hirzel – unfortunately only for our Italian-speaking viewers):
Alessandro Ciffo was born in Biella (Italy) in 1968 and continues to live and work in his hometown until now. Self-taught with no formal education, he entered the world of art in 1997 working with silicone as his prime raw material. Since then, he has been experimenting on its potential, developing and perfecting various techniques construction and coloring-wise.
In the process, he has created a vast variety of objects and furniture; from vases, bowls and lamps to armchairs, sideboards, cabinets, tables, side tables, stools, benches, carpets, wall panels, installations and even decorating/covering a FIAT 500 car with silicone.
His creations are, up to now, either “Unique-One Off” pieces or “Limited Edition”, as he develops them himself or with the assistance of trainees in his workshop.
He created and exhibited his first collection (“XXI Silico”) in 1998 and, since then, he has participated in many personal and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad (Paris, New York), mainly in collaboration with internationally well-known galleries (e.g. DILMOS MILANO, SECONDOME Design Gallery). Numerous publications and art critics have praised his work both in print and on-line.
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