A new installation at the V&A will lead a trail dedicated to iconic British furniture designer Robin Day. In celebration of his centenary, ‘Robin Day Works in Wood’ will display some of his famous furniture alongside handmade objects and writings.
Day’s career spanned nearly seven decades and his prolific body of work included the Polypropylene chair (1963) which sold in tens of millions worldwide. He grew up near the beechwoods and timber furniture factories of High Wycombe and his understanding of wood as a material was expressed in his designs. Supported by The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation, the exhibition will explore this aspect of his work.
Paula Day, Robin’s daughter and chair of the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation says: “I remember my father at our cottage in the oak woods of West Sussex, logging for the wood burning stove and making all sorts of things out of wood just for pleasure. He was completely at home with timber – he even seemed to think in wood. So it feels absolutely right to me that we should celebrate the centenary of his birth by exploring these personal aspects of his creativity as well as his famous industrial designs.”
Part of a series of events during London Design Festival (September 19-27), other stops on the trail include Case Furniture, the licensed manufacturers of Robin Day’s 675 chair (1952), who will host a retrospective in their new Wandsworth showroom displaying vintage Robin Day pieces on loan from private collectors across the country.
Furniture retailer twentytwentyone has collaborated with the likes of Martino Gamper, Tom Dixon and Margaret Howell, to pay tribute to Robin Day’s Reclining chair (1952) with a special Centenary Edition, which will be on display at the twentytwentyone Clerkenwell showroom and Islington store.
John Lewis is dedicating a section of their furniture floor in the Oxford Street store to Day’s pieces. As well as the 675 chair, recently awarded a Design Guild Mark Award, the display will feature the famous Polypropylene sidechair (1963) and armchair (1967), re-launched for the Centenary with the original frames and colours.
The trail will also highlight items still in everyday use in London’s public spaces, including his auditorium seating for the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican Arts Centre and his Toro and Woodro seating on London Underground platforms across the capital.
A great opportunity to admire the work of a pioneering talent.
