The focus of Jonathan Muecke’s work is on a complex process of theory and experimentation, informed by architectural and artistic references. These are represented in his “open objects”, which have an apparent simplicity. Blurring the line between architecture, art, and design, Jonathan Muecke critically questions the definitions of functional archetypes such as a chair, table, or lamp. To reduce these objects to their most minimal appearance, all irrelevant details are omitted, creating a sense of lightness.
The designer’s reduction process aims not only to increase the functionality of the object but also to test the limits of the legibility of the same. His experimental use of material and proportion challenge preconceived assumptions about gravity, spatial presence, and aesthetics.
Jonathan Muecke designed the Carbon Tube Chairs for an exhibition at MANIERA Gallery. There he presented the seating furniture next to his “open objects” for the first time. These unique chairs have a leather cover on a base, which was created by a new process: Here Jonathan Muecke was able to connect two different carbon tubes and create a stable structured structure.
In 2010, Jonathan Muecke founded his design studio after graduating from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Prior to that, he had both studied architecture and completed an architectural internship at the famed firm Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland.
In 2011, he debuted with a solo exhibition at Volume Gallery in Chicago and has since been collected by numerous prestigious museums, including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, France’s CNAP (Centre National des Arts Plastiques), and the Vitra Design Museum. See more of his work on his website.
