Andrés Nagel (San Sebastián, 1947) for Akaba. Set of desk and chair "Entremanos", 1983. Metal and beech veneered wood. Indivisible set. Condition: 8/10

Lot description

ANDRÉS NAGEL (San Sebastián, 1947) for Akaba. Set of desk and chair "Entremanos", 1983. Metal and beech veneered wood. Indivisible set. Condition: 8/10 Measurements: 120 x 160 x 40 cm (desk); 80 x 60 x 36 cm (chair). Singular set of desk and chair conceived as an authentic functional sculptural piece, where Andrés Nagel transfers to the field of furniture the plastic language that characterizes his artistic production. The design incorporates expressive elements in the form of stylized hands that emerge from the structure of the desk and the back of the chair, establishing a direct dialogue between art and design and giving the set a marked sculptural character. It combines a tubular metal structure with flat surfaces and a wooden upper module with small drawers. The hands, integrated into the structure, introduce an ironic and expressive gesture that breaks with the strict functionality of the furniture and brings it closer to the territory of the artistic object, in tune with the postmodern currents that, during the 1980s, explored new relationships between art, design and sculpture. The chair reproduces the same formal vocabulary, creating a visual and conceptual continuity with the desk. The ensemble is a representative example of Nagel's irony-laden postmodern figuration, as well as of the collaboration between artists and the Basque firm Akaba. Andrés Nagel is considered one of the most internationally renowned Basque artists. Throughout his career he has exhibited in numerous international cities such as New York, Paris, Chicago, Vienna, Milan, Hong Kong and Mexico City, and his work has been presented in institutions such as the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. In 1991 he was commissioned to create a work for the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan, and in 2001 one of his sculptures was exhibited in the gardens of the Palais Royal in Paris.