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Furniture designer Charles Pollock passes away

Furniture designer Charles Pollock passes away

THE furniture designer Charles Pollock who has passed away at the age of 83.

Mr. Pollock concentrated most his design efforts on chairs and although he produced only a handful of designs, one in particular — The Pollock Executive Chair (see below) — became one of the best-selling office chairs in history after it was introduced in 1963..

The young Pollock had not only produced a design which was regarded as a visual symbol of the modern workplace, but he also come up with a totally new production technique. He had spent five years working on his executive chair and invented what became known as rim technology which simplified it assembly during the manufacturing process.

The Knoll company in the U.S. produced the chair which is still in production. The designer’s association with Knoll had begun in 1960 when the company produced his 657 Sling Chair (see below). 

Following his success with the executive chair, Mr. Pollock turned his attention to Europe where he spent some time. In 1982 he created the Penelope Chair (see below) for the Italian company Castelli. He won a design award for the chair which proved to be popular with the buying public.

Throughout his career, Mr. Pollock worked by two principles: creatively, he favoured a continuous curved line when sketching ideas and creating forms, and he also insisted that any product should be visually attractive, functional and affordable. His work has been exhibited by many museums around the world including the Louvre in Paris.

In 2012, at the age of 82, he came up with the design for the CP Lounge Chair (see below) after being commissioned by Bernhardt Design.

Mr. Pollock passed away following a fire at his home in Queens, New York.

To view an interview with Mr. Pollock and to see his designs, click here.

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